Gunther Cunningham (June 19, 1946 – May 11, 2019) was an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
head coach. He served as the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
head coach for two seasons. He also had two stints as the Chiefs' Defensive Coordinator. He served as an assistant coach for five other
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) teams and four college teams. He coached football for 47 consecutive seasons without taking any years off.
Early life
Cunningham was born in 1946 in war-torn
Munich, Germany
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
to an American serviceman and a German mother before moving to the United States at age ten. He attended the
University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
, where he played
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
and
placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter.
Spe ...
before embarking on a coaching career that spanned almost fifty years.
Coaching career
In 1995, Cunningham was hired by the Chiefs as the defensive coordinator after spending the previous four seasons as a coach with the
Los Angeles Raiders
The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season to the 1981 season and then agai ...
.
During his original tenure as defensive coordinator, Cunningham's defenses allowed an average of only 16.4 points per game, the best mark in the
NFL and had a turnover margin of +30, tops in the
AFC. Under his lead, a number of players excelled, including stars such as
Neil Smith,
James Hasty
James Edward Hasty (born May 23, 1965) is a former professional American football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Oakland Raiders from 1988 to 2001.
Career
Footb ...
,
Dale Carter
Dale Lavelle Carter (born November 28, 1969) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League. He played for the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, and Baltimore Ravens.
Professio ...
, and
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
linebacker
Derrick Thomas
Derrick Vincent Thomas (January 1, 1967 – February 8, 2000), nicknamed D.T., was an American football linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Considered one of the greatest pass rushers of all time, he p ...
. Cunningham's defenses led Kansas City to an overall record of 42-22.
After the Chiefs missed the playoffs in 1998, head coach
Marty Schottenheimer
Martin Edward Schottenheimer (; September 23, 1943 – February 8, 2021) was an American football linebacker and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1984 to 2006. He was the head coach of the Kansas City ...
resigned, opening the door for Cunningham's promotion to the head coach position. In his first season, the Chiefs finished 9-7, but were eliminated from playoff contention on the final day of the season when the
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
's
Joe Nedney
Joseph Thomas Nedney (born March 22, 1973) is a former American football placekicker. Born and raised in San Jose, California, Nedney played college football at San Jose State and signed as an undrafted player with the Miami Dolphins in 1996. H ...
kicked a field goal as time expired. After the Chiefs regressed to 7-9 a year later, Cunningham was fired and replaced by
Dick Vermeil
Richard Albert Vermeil (; born October 30, 1936) is a former American football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles for seven seasons, the St. Lou ...
. The move was controversial at the time as Cunningham claimed he was never informed by management that he was to be fired and only found out about it after discovering the article regarding his termination on the Chiefs website after he showed up to work one morning. Cunningham went on to become a successful linebackers coach for the
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...
. Cunningham was hired again in 2004 to revitalize a defense that had finished near or at the bottom of the overall rankings since Schottenheimer and Cunningham departed.
For the 2008 season, Cunningham coached the Chiefs' linebackers as well as serving as the defensive coordinator.
Cunningham was hired as the Detroit Lions defensive coordinator on January 21, 2009, about a week after the Lions hired new head coach
Jim Schwartz
James J. Schwartz (born June 2, 1966) is an American football coach who is a Senior Defensive Assistant for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He was head coach of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) ...
, who he worked with on the Titans from 2001–2003.
Personal life
He became a naturalized U.S. citizen on April 6, 2010. Cunningham and his wife, René, had two children, Adam and Natalie. Cunningham died on Saturday, May 11, 2019 from cancer.
Head coaching record
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Gunther
1946 births
2019 deaths
Arkansas Razorbacks football coaches
Baltimore Colts coaches
California Golden Bears football coaches
Detroit Lions coaches
Hamilton Tiger-Cats coaches
Indianapolis Colts coaches
Kansas City Chiefs coaches
Kansas City Chiefs head coaches
Los Angeles Raiders coaches
National Football League defensive coordinators
Oregon Ducks football players
Oregon Ducks football coaches
San Diego Chargers coaches
Stanford Cardinal football coaches
Tennessee Titans coaches
Sportspeople from Munich
German emigrants to the United States