Randall Cunningham

Not to be confused with his son, Randall Cunningham II.
For former United States Representative Randall Cunningham, see Duke Cunningham.
Randall Cunningham
No. 12, 7, 1
Position: Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth: (1963-03-27) March 27, 1963
Place of birth: Santa Barbara, California
Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight: 215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school: Santa Barbara (CA)
College: UNLV
NFL draft: 1985 / Round: 2 / Pick: 37
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
TD–INT: 207–134
Yards: 29,979
QB Rating: 81.5
Player stats at NFL.com

Randall W. Cunningham (born March 27, 1963) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League and current football coach and pastor. After playing college football at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he was selected in the second round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, with whom he remained through the 1995 season. He announced his retirement from football following the end of that season, taking a job as an analyst for TNT in 1996. The following year, however, he resumed his playing career. He played for the Minnesota Vikings (1997–1999), the Dallas Cowboys (2000), and the Baltimore Ravens (2001). Cunningham then re-signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and retired for good in 2002. He won the Bert Bell Award in 1990. He is the younger brother of former college and professional football player Sam Cunningham who played for the New England Patriots and father of Randall Cunningham II and world champion high jumper Vashti Cunningham.

High school and college

Cunningham attended Santa Barbara High School in Santa Barbara, California, and was a graduate of the class of 1981.[1]As a senior, he led his team to a League title and the CIF Finals.[2] He also competed in track and field at SBHS in the high jump, his big brother was the state champion in the shot put.[3]

He then went on to attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He was a 1983 and 1984 College Football All-America Team selection as a punter. In 1984, his senior year, he led the UNLV Rebels to an 11–2 season—still the school's only 10-win season ever—however this was adjusted to 0–13 when it was found out several players were ineligible.[4]

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Cunningham was the Eagles' second-round pick in the 1985 NFL Draft. Cunningham was also sought by the United States Football League's Tampa Bay Bandits that same year. Eagles owner Norman Braman refused to negotiate with Cunningham if he accepted offers from the Bandits. Ultimately, the USFL folded, thus ending that issue. In his rookie season he played sparingly as a backup to veteran Ron Jaworski but made a big splash with his uncanny scrambling ability, though he completed just 34 percent of his passes and threw just one touchdown against eight interceptions. In 1986, new head coach Buddy Ryan arrived in Philadelphia and made wholesale changes, many of them unorthodox, mostly due to his defensive-minded philosophy. At the quarterback position, Ryan designated 35-year-old Ron Jaworski the starter but would replace the aging veteran with the fleet-footed Cunningham in third-and-long situations where the youngster’s scrambling would presumably put the defense on its heels. After a hand injury to Jaworski in week 10, Cunningham would replace him as the Eagles’ starter. Cunningham was permanently handed the Eagles' starting job for the 1987 season. Cunningham was said to have reached "elite" status during the 1988 season, as he was elected by league players as the NFC starting quarterback for the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl (the first black quarterback to ever be elected a starter). That same year, he combined with fellow Eagle Pro Bowler Reggie White to lead the Eagles to the NFC Eastern Division Championship. In the 1988 Divisional Playoffs, Cunningham threw for 407 yards during the "Fog Bowl" 20-12 loss against the Chicago Bears. In the subsequent Pro Bowl a few weeks later, Cunningham was named game MVP as the NFC defeated the AFC, 28-3.

In 1989, Cunningham, who had been an all-conference quarterback and punter while at UNLV, unleashed a 91-yard punt against the Giants on December 4, the longest in Eagles history (and the fourth-longest ever).[5] He had 20 punts during his career, with an average of 44.7 yards per punt.[6]

In a 1990 game against the Buffalo Bills, Cunningham, throwing from his end zone, was about to be sacked by Bruce Smith from his blind side. Cunningham ducked and threw a pass 60 yards to wide receiver Fred Barnett, resulting in a 95-yard touchdown. That same year, Cunningham finished with 942 rushing yards, 3rd most ever for a quarterback, 10th best in the league.

In 1991, Cunningham's season came to an abrupt end when he was tackled by Bryce Paup of the Green Bay Packers and tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the 1st game of the season. He would return to the Eagles completely healed the following season, and led the team to its first playoff victory in 12 years. However, it was evident that the injury he suffered took away much of his speed and athleticism. The 1993 and 1994 seasons would be riddled by a series of nagging injuries and a transition to the West Coast Offense that eventually led to his benching in favor of veteran Rodney Peete. Feeling as if the fans and organization did not fully appreciate his contributions to the team's success, as well as being unhappy with his role as a back-up, Cunningham retired from football after the 1995 season.

He left Philadelphia with the third most rushing yards in Eagles history, with 4,482, behind Hall of Famer Steve Van Buren and Wilbert Montgomery, although he has since fallen to sixth after Duce Staley, Brian Westbrook, and LeSean McCoy all rushed for more yards than him. He also left second only to Ron Jaworski in passing yards, with 22,877, however both he and Jaworski were surpassed by Donovan McNabb.

Minnesota Vikings

Cunningham joined the Vikings in 1997 after being out of football in 1996. Vikings' coach Dennis Green called him when he was on a job site for his granite business. There he reunited with former Eagles wide receiver Cris Carter. In his first year with the Vikings, he orchestrated two late touchdown drives to defeat the New York Giants in an NFC Wild Card game at Giants Stadium, 23-22. However, the Vikings lost in the Divisional Round to Steve Young and the San Francisco 49ers.

Cunningham enjoyed the greatest season of his career in Minnesota during the 1998 campaign when he guided the Vikings to a 15–1 regular season record with 34 touchdown passes, only 10 interceptions, and 3,704 passing yards. Cunningham had a good supporting cast that year with Cris Carter, Rookie Randy Moss, and Jake Reed at Wide Receiver and Robert Smith and Leroy Hoard at Running Back. Cunningham led the league with a 106.0 passer rating while the Vikings posted a then-NFL record 556 points during the 1998 season, making him the first black quarterback to lead the league in that category. Cunningham claimed the Vikings Monday night 37–24 victory over the Green Bay Packers was "the greatest night of my football career". Cunningham threw for 442 yards and 4 touchdowns in a game where Brett Favre, in the prime of his career, was benched at the end of the first half. However, the Vikings ended up being the first 15-1 team to fall short of the Super Bowl, losing to the underdog Atlanta Falcons in the conference championship game by a field goal.

During the early stages of the 1999 season, after throwing 9 interceptions in just 6 games, Cunningham was benched again, this time in favor of Jeff George. After the team announced that 2nd-year quarterback Daunte Culpepper would be the starter prior to the 2000 season, Cunningham was released.

Dallas Cowboys

Shortly before the 2000 season, Cunningham signed with the Dallas Cowboys to serve as backup to Troy Aikman. After a series of concussions ended Aikman's season, and ultimately his career, Cunningham again took the helm at quarterback. Despite posting a 1–2 record as a starter, he put up respectable numbers (849 yards passing with 6 touchdowns and 4 interceptions). One notable occurrence during his time with the Cowboys was a return to Philadelphia. Cunningham started the game and dueled the new Eagles quarterback, Donovan McNabb. The game was decided in overtime, with an Eagles field goal giving them the 16–13 victory. Cunningham received a mixed reception of cheers and boos upon his return to Philadelphia. A 5–11 subpar year for the Cowboys led to major roster changes, and Cunningham was one of the many changes. He was released after the 2000 season, but then signed with the Baltimore Ravens.

Baltimore Ravens

Cunningham served a backup to Elvis Grbac in 2001. He went 2–0 as a starter in Baltimore, and retired after the season.

In his final 10 NFL seasons, Cunningham played in only 80 games, but finished his 16-year career completing 2,429 of his 4,289 attempts for 29,997 yards and 207 touchdowns, with 134 interceptions. He was sacked 484 times, third-most all time behind (2nd) John Elway with 516 sacks, and (1st) Brett Favre with 525 sacks. Cunningham also rushed for 4,928 yards on 775 carries and 35 touchdowns. He retired after the 2001 season as the NFL's all-time leader in rushing yards and carries for the quarterback position, (a record broken in 2011 by Michael Vick), and tied for fourth with Steve Grogan in rushing touchdowns by a QB. Cunningham also averaged 30.6 rushing yards per game during his career—second most all-time for quarterbacks, behind Michael Vick.

NFL stats

Year Team Games Completions Pass Attempts Completion Percentage Pass Yards Yards per Pass Passing Touchdowns Longest Pass Interceptions Fumbles Passer Rating
1985 PHI 6 34 81 42.0 548 6.77 1 69 8 0 29.8
1986 PHI 15 111 209 53.1 1,391 6.66 8 75 7 0 72.9
1987 PHI 12 223 406 54.9 2,786 6.86 23 70 12 0 83.0
1988 PHI 16 301 560 53.8 3,808 6.80 24 80 16 0 77.6
1989 PHI 16 290 532 54.5 3,400 6.39 21 66 15 0 75.5
1990 PHI 16 271 465 58.3 3,466 7.45 30 95 13 0 91.6
1991 PHI 1 1 4 25.0 19 4.75 0 19 0 0 46.9
1992 PHI 15 233 384 60.7 2,775 7.23 19 75 11 8 87.3
1993 PHI 4 76 110 69.1 850 7.73 5 80 5 1 88.1
1994 PHI 14 265 490 54.1 3,229 6.59 16 93 13 6 74.4
1995 PHI 7 69 121 57.0 605 5.00 3 33 5 1 61.5
1997 MIN 6 44 88 50.0 501 5.69 6 34 4 3 71.3
1998 MIN 15 259 425 60.9 3,704 8.72 34 67 10 0 106.0
1999 MIN 6 124 200 62.0 1,475 7.38 8 61 9 1 79.1
2000 DAL 6 74 125 59.2 849 6.79 6 76 4 3 82.4
2001 BAL 6 54 89 60.7 573 6.44 3 30 2 0 81.3
Career 161 2,429 4,289 56.6 29,979 6.99 207 95 134 23 81.5

After retirement

After retirement, Cunningham returned to UNLV to finish his college degree in Leisure studies. Cunningham has also been active in the Gospel music business since his retirement from the NFL by opening a recording studio and producing a Christian worship music. Cunningham, a born again Christian, became an ordained Protestant minister and founded a church called Remnant Ministries in Las Vegas in 2004.[7] Congregation is 1400 weekly with and additional 5000 watching via live stream monthly.

In December 2009 Cunningham was hired by Silverado High School in Henderson, Nevada]] as the offensive coordinator of the school's varsity and junior varsity football team. His son, Randall Cunningham II, was a freshman quarterback for the Skyhawks.[8]

On June 29, 2010, one of Cunningham's children, two-year-old son Christian, drowned in a hot tub while unattended at the family home in Las Vegas.[9][10]

In August 2011, following a rumored spat with Silverado's head coach, Cunningham resigned his coaching position at SHS. His son, Randall Jr, withdrew from SHS and registered the same day at Bishop Gorman High School, a private Roman Catholic school in Las Vegas.[11]

In July 2012, Cunningham was named the 23rd greatest quarterback of the NFL's post-merger era, according to Football Nation.[12]

In March 2013, Cunningham authored Lay It Down: How Letting Go Brings Out Your Best (Worthy Publishing, ISBN 9781617951275). The book shows readers how to work out the “lay it down” principle in all phases of life.[13]

In December 2014, Cunningham was named head coach at Silverado High School.[14] In his rookie season as head coach, he and his staff turned the football program around from a previous record of 3-7 to a 2015 record of 7-4. The team recorded its first playoff victory since the year 2007. He helped coach two National All Americans who were chosen to participate in the Blue Grey All American bowls in Texas and Florida. (Linebacker Jeremiah Pritchard and Wide Receiver Devion Clayton)

See also

References

External links

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