Samuel David Wyche (; January 5, 1945 – January 2, 2020) was an American professional football quarterback and coach. He was a quarterback and head coach for the Cincinnati Bengals and a quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers. As head coach, he led the Bengals to Super Bowl XXIII, which they lost to the 49ers 20–16, relinquishing the lead on a last-minute touchdown. He was also known for introducing the use of the no-huddle offense as a standard offense (as opposed to use at the end of the half).
Wyche coached Cincinnati from 1984 to 1991, and his 64 wins with the Bengals were the most by a coach in franchise history until he was surpassed by Marvin Lewis in 2011.
Wyche also played for the Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, St. Louis Cardinals, and Buffalo Bills. He also coached at the University of South Carolina and Indiana University, and for the San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Buffalo Bills.
College career
From 1963 to 1965, Wyche played college football at Furman University as a quarterback. He was also an initiated member of Kappa Alpha Order fraternity. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Furman University and his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of South Carolina.
Professional career
Wheeling Ironmen
From 1966 through 1967, Wyche played for the Wheeling Ironmen of the semi-professional Continental Football League.
Cincinnati Bengals
Wyche signed with the American Football League expansion Cincinnati Bengals for the 1968 season, when he started three games and also served as backup to John Stofa and Dewey Warren. In his rookie season, he completed 35 passes in 55 attempts (63.6 percent) for 494 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed 12 times for 74 yards (a 6.2 average) and caught one pass for five yards.
In Wyche's second season, 1969, he played in seven games, again starting three, as Bengals rookie Greg Cook eventually assumed the starting role. For the season, Wyche completed 54 passes in 108 attempts (50.0 percent) for 838 yards and seven touchdowns. He rushed 12 times for 109 yards (an 8.9 average) and one touchdown.
Detroit Lions
In 1974, Wyche played for the Detroit Lions, with only one pass attempted. He was also selected in the inaugural World Football League draft in 1974.
St. Louis Cardinals
In the 1976, Wyche signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. He completed his only pass completion for five yards.
Buffalo Bills
Wyche was signed by the Buffalo Bills on October 27, 1976. He did not play any games during his time with the team.
Coaching career
University of South Carolina
In 1967, while at the University of South Carolina working on his MBA degree, Wyche was an assistant coach for the Gamecocks.
San Francisco 49ers
Wyche was an assistant coach and directed the passing game for the San Francisco 49ers from 1979 to 1982. He was on the coaching staff of the 1981 team that won Super Bowl XVI. Future NFL head coach Cam Cameron was a quarterback on that team.
Cincinnati Bengals
Wyche was hired as the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals in late December 1983. In his first three seasons, Cincinnati finished second each time, then fell to 4–11 in 1987. The next year, he led the Bengals to their second Super Bowl appearance, where they lost 20–16 to the San Francisco 49ers, who rallied to win with a touchdown pass from Joe Montana with 34 seconds remaining. for his unconventional play-calling. Wyche introduced the concept of having 12 or more players huddle on the field, then having a few leave the field. He called it the "sugar huddle"; it was meant to confuse the defense as to the personnel grouping. If defenses tried to adapt with their own substitutions, the Bengals snapped the ball, often leading to the defense being penalized for having too many players on the field. The NFL responded by changing the rules so that defenses could match the offensive substitutions before a snap was allowed.