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Sunday, October 07, 2001

Sam Wyche's comeback has ended. He should be here today, presiding in the CBS-TV booth, broadcasting a game that once was his most heated rivalry as a coach and where he picked up his nickname, Wicky Wacky 15 years ago.

Instead, his broadcasting career is apparently over because he no longer has the voice for it. Simple surgery to lift some lymph nodes in his neck for a biopsy went awry two years ago when a nerve that controlled his vocal chords was accidentally cut.

Wyche did not work at all last year, save for one game, but he tried it again this year. He worked two games before CBS advised him that the quality of his voice was not strong enough.

"It didn't last long," Wyche said from his home in Daytona Beach, Fla. "They say it's permanent. But I have one last Hail Mary; I'm going to see a specialist at Massachusetts General in Boston."

Wyche's first surgery was done in Greenville, S.C., near a home he has there. He has filed papers to make sure the statute of limitations does not run out, reserving his right to sue the surgeon. It cost him other broadcasting jobs as well.

Wyche has thought about getting back into coaching or becoming a high school teacher.

"I may do something I want to do and not just have to do," he said. "I always wanted to be a high school teacher, but I'd have to go back to school to do it."

Wyche's record as a coach was only 87-109 from 1984-91 with Cincinnati and 1992-95 with Tampa Bay. But he became a legend during that time for several reasons, not the least of which was coaching the 1988 Bengals to the brink of a Super Bowl victory, only to go down in the final seconds to Joe Montana and the 49ers, 20-16.

He also was known here for his running feud with Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Noll. Wyche once extended his hand to Noll after a game, and Noll declined to shake it. That went on for a few years, but the two later warmed up to each other a little, and Wyche took Noll's side when Noll got into it with Houston Coach Jerry Glanville.

Wyche gave Steelers offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey his first job as a coach in the NFL with Tampa Bay. If the Steelers go to their no-huddle offense today, its roots go back to Wyche, who first used it in Cincinnati and was criticized by many coaches in the NFL because it did not allow them to substitute defenses as freely.

Wyche went to work for NBC-TV after he was fired by the Buccaneers, then joined CBS when that network got the rights to AFC games. Mularkey would like to see Wyche get back into coaching.

"He's good for the game," Mularkey said. "He's an extremely intelligent guy. I would love to see him get back into it. He's a good personality for the game, too.

"He'd also be excellent as a teacher-- unbelievably good because he's a good communicator and can handle different types of people and personalities. He's fair with everyone. I have a lot of respect for Sam; I really, really like Sam."

There is some good news about Wyche's health. A year ago, doctors told him he needed a heart transplant after a virus had damaged his. However, medication and a pacemaker have improved his heartbeat to the point he no longer needs a new one. And the biopsy to the lymph nodes showed no more than a minor swelling that disappeared within a few weeks.

Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com