Gunther Cunningham
| Current position | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Senior coaching assistant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | Detroit Lions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | June 19, 1946 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Munich, Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Linebacker/ placekicker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Oregon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coaching record | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Regular season | 16–16–0 (.500) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career record | 16–16–0 (.500) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stats | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaching stats (NFL) | Pro Football Reference | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team(s) as a coach/administrator | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gunther Cunningham (born June 19, 1946) is the American football senior coaching assistant for the Detroit Lions.[1] Cunningham has presided over some of the most successful defenses in NFL history as a Defensive Coordinator (1995 and 1997), typically ranking at the top of the league in many statistical categories.
Contents
Early life
Cunningham was born in 1946 in war-torn Munich, Germany to an American serviceman and a German mother before moving to the United States at age ten. He attended the University of Oregon, where he played linebacker and placekicker before embarking on a coaching career that has now spanned almost forty 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.
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 Derrick Thomas, Neil Smith, James Hasty, and Dale Carter. 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 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's Joe Nedney 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. The move was controversial at the time as Cunningham claims he was never informed by management that he was to be fired, and apparently 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. Under Vermeil, the Chiefs' offense exploded, but its defense struggled, resulting in the firing of Vermeil's choice of defensive coordinator, Greg Robinson. Cunningham was hired again 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, who he worked with on the Titans from 2001-2003.[2]
Personal life
He became a naturalized U.S. citizen on April 6, 2010.[3]
Head coaching record
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| KC | 1999 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2nd in AFC West | - | - | - | - |
| KC | 2000 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3rd in AFC West | - | - | - | - |
| KC Total | 16 | 16 | 0 | .500 | - | - | - | - | ||
| NFL Total[4] | 16 | 16 | 0 | .500 | - | - | - | - | ||
| Total | 16 | 16 | 0 | .500 | - | - | - | - | ||
References
- ↑ Detroit Lions Coaching Staff at NFL.com
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Gunther Cunningham Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks - Pro-Football-Reference.com
External links
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Los Angeles Raiders Defensive Coordinator 1992–1993 |
Succeeded by John Fox |
| Preceded by | Kansas City Chiefs Defensive Coordinator 1995–1998 |
Succeeded by Kurt Schottenheimer |
| Preceded by | Kansas City Chiefs Defensive Coordinator 2004–2008 |
Succeeded by Clancy Pendergast |
| Preceded by | Detroit Lions Defensive Coordinator 2009–2013 |
Succeeded by Teryl Austin |
- 1946 births
- Living people
- 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
- Oregon Ducks football players
- Oregon Ducks football coaches
- San Diego Chargers coaches
- Stanford Cardinal football coaches
- Tennessee Titans coaches
- National Football League defensive coordinators
- Sportspeople from Munich
- German emigrants to the United States
