Former Cincinnati Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Sam Wyche is awaiting a possible heart transplant.
A brief statement posted on Wyche's official website says the 71-year-old is at a Charlotte, N.C., hospital and hoping for a matching donor heart "in the next few days." If none is found, he will need to have an artificial heart pump implanted until a new heart can be obtained.
Wyche was a backup quarterback in the AFL and NFL from 1968-76, spending time with the Bengals, Redskins, Lions and Cardinals. But he is best known for his work as the head coach of what at the time were two of the NFL's more downtrodden franchises.