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Randall Cunningham

For his son, see Randall Cunningham II. For former U.S. Representative Randall Cunningham, see Duke Cunningham.

Randall Wade Cunningham Sr. (born March 27, 1963) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles and is also known for his Minnesota Vikings tenure. A four-time Pro Bowl selection, Cunningham is fourth in NFL quarterback rushing yards, which he led at the time of his retirement.

Randall Cunningham
refer to caption
Cunningham at the 1999 Pro Bowl
No. 12, 7, 1
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1963-03-27) March 27, 1963 (age 61)
Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school:Santa Barbara
College:UNLV (1981–1984)
NFL draft:1985 / round: 2 / pick: 37
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Passing attempts:4,229
Passing completions:2,429
Completion percentage:56.6%
TD–INT:207–134
Passing yards:29,979
Passer rating:81.5
Rushing yards:4,928
Rushing touchdowns:35
Stats at Pro Football Reference
College Football Hall of Fame

Cunningham played college football for the UNLV Rebels, earning first-team All-American honors, and was selected in the second round of the 1985 NFL draft by the Eagles, where he spent his first 11 seasons. He retired after the 1995 season, but returned a year later to join the Vikings. In 1998, he enjoyed the strongest season of his career and helped the team set the NFL record for the most regular season points scored en route to the 1998 NFC Championship Game appearance. Cunningham lost his starting position during the 1999 season due to a performance decline and was released afterwards. In his final two seasons, he held a backup role with the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens.

Upon retiring a second and final time, Cunningham became an ordained Protestant minister and served as the team chaplain for the Las Vegas Raiders from 2020 to 2022. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

Early life and college

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Cunningham was born in Santa Barbara, California, in 1963. His older brother Sam would also become a future NFL player. He attended Santa Barbara High School, 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 elder brother Frank 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

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Philadelphia Eagles

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Cunningham was the Eagles' second-round pick, and the first quarterback selected in the 1985 NFL draft.[5] 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 veteran with the fleet-footed Cunningham in third-and-long situations where the latter'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. Despite his limited service and speed, the Eagles' porous offensive line allowed him to be sacked a franchise record (and NFL record at the time) 72 times that season. 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 54 passes for 407 yards during the "Fog Bowl" 20–12 loss against the Chicago Bears, both of which remain playoff franchise records. He also shares the franchise record with 3 interceptions in that same game.[a] In the subsequent Pro Bowl a few weeks later, Cunningham was named game MVP as the NFC defeated the AFC, 28–3.

In 1989, on October 2 Cunningham also set the regular season franchise record with 62 pass attempts (now shared with Nick Foles), also against the Chicago Bears. He had been an all-conference quarterback and punter while at UNLV, and unleashed a 91-yard punt against the Giants on December 3, the longest in Eagles history (and the fourth-longest ever).[6] He had 20 punts during his career, with an average of 44.7 yards per punt.[7]

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, the 2nd most ever for a quarterback at the time(Just 26yds short of the all-time record, set by Bobby Douglass in 1972) and 10th best in the league. He averaged 8.0 yards per rush, the most ever by an Eagle of any position with 100 attempts on the season, and third most in NFL history.[b]

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 first game of the season.[8] 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.[9]

He left Philadelphia with the third-most rushing yards in Eagles history (4,482), trailing Hall of Famer Steve Van Buren and Wilbert Montgomery, but has since fallen to sixth after Duce Staley, Brian Westbrook, and LeSean McCoy all surpassed him. He also left second only to Ron Jaworski in passing yards, with 22,877, though both were later surpassed by Donovan McNabb. He still holds the Eagles record with 6.62 yards per rush attempt, 422 sacks taken, and 6.5 yards per pass attempt in playoff games.

Minnesota Vikings

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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.[10][11] There he reunited with former Eagles wide receiver Cris Carter. In his first year with the Vikings, he orchestrated two late scoring drives to bring them back from a 9-point deficit 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 scored 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".[12] He threw for 442 yards and four touchdowns. 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 NFC Championship Game by a field goal in overtime.

During the early stages of the 1999 season, after throwing nine interceptions in just six games, Cunningham was benched again, this time in favor of Jeff George.[13] After the team announced that second-year quarterback Daunte Culpepper would be the starter prior to the 2000 season, Cunningham was released.[14]

Dallas Cowboys

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Shortly before the 2000 season, Cunningham signed with the Dallas Cowboys to serve as backup to Troy Aikman.[15] 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. He 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. At the end of the season, he reached incentive clauses that voided his contract and made him an unrestricted free agent. He was not re-signed, after the Cowboys signed quarterback Tony Banks instead.

Baltimore Ravens

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On May 29, 2001, he was signed by the Baltimore Ravens, reuniting with head coach Brian Billick, who was his offensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings.[16] Cunningham was originally intended to serve as the third-string quarterback, but he was named the backup behind Elvis Grbac after performing better than Chris Redman. He went 2–0 as a starter. He was not re-signed, after the Ravens signed quarterback Jeff Blake instead. On August 15, 2002, Cunningham signed a one-day contract with the Philadelphia Eagles to officially announce his retirement.[17]

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 29,979 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 quarterback. Cunningham also averaged 30.6 rushing yards per game during his career—second most all-time for quarterbacks, behind Michael Vick.

NFL career statistics

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Legend
NFL record
Led the league
Bold Career high

Regular season

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Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacks Fumbles
GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD Sck SckY Fum Lost
1985 PHI 6 4 1−3 34 81 42.0 548 6.8 1 8 29.8 29 205 7.1 0 20 150 — —
1986 PHI 15 5 1−3−1 111 209 53.1 1,391 6.7 8 7 72.9 66 540 8.2 5 72 489 — —
1987 PHI 12 12 7−5 223 406 54.9 2,786 6.9 23 12 83.0 76 505 6.6 3 54 380 — —
1988 PHI 16 16 10−6 301 560 53.8 3,808 6.8 24 16 77.6 93 624 6.7 6 57 442 — —
1989 PHI 16 16 11−5 290 532 54.5 3,400 6.4 21 15 75.5 104 621 6.0 4 45 343 — —
1990 PHI 16 16 10−6 271 465 58.3 3,466 7.5 30 13 91.6 118 942 8.0 5 49 431 — —
1991 PHI 1 1 1−0 1 4 25.0 19 4.8 0 0 46.9 0 0 0 0 2 16 — —
1992 PHI 15 15 10−5 233 384 60.7 2,775 7.2 19 11 87.3 87 594 6.3 5 60 437 13 8
1993 PHI 4 4 4−0 76 110 69.1 850 7.7 5 5 88.1 18 110 6.1 1 7 33 3 2
1994 PHI 14 14 7−7 265 490 54.1 3,229 6.6 16 13 74.4 65 288 4.4 3 43 333 10 3
1995 PHI 7 4 1−3 69 121 57.0 605 5.0 3 5 61.5 21 98 4.7 0 13 79 3 2
1997 MIN 6 3 1−2 44 88 50.0 501 5.7 6 4 71.3 19 127 6.7 0 7 60 4 1
1998 MIN 15 14 13−1 259 425 60.9 3,704 8.7 34 10 106.0 32 132 4.1 1 20 132 2 1
1999 MIN 6 6 2−4 124 200 62.0 1,475 7.4 8 9 79.6 10 58 5.8 0 15 101 2 2
2000 DAL 6 3 1−2 74 125 59.2 849 6.8 6 4 82.4 23 89 3.9 1 8 45 4 1
2001 BAL 6 2 2−0 54 89 60.7 573 6.4 3 2 81.3 14 40 2.9 1 12 66 4 0
Career 161 135 82−52−1 2,429 4,289 56.6 29,979 7.0 207 134 81.5 775 4,928 6.4 35 484 3,537 45 20

After retiring

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After retiring from football, 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 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.[18] In 2020, Cunningham became the team chaplain for the Las Vegas Raiders, replacing former team chaplain Napoleon Kaufman, who stayed in Oakland when the team moved to Las Vegas.[19]

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.[20]

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.[21][22][23]

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.[24]

In July 2012, Cunningham was named the 23rd greatest quarterback of the NFL's post-merger era, according to Football Nation.[25]

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.

In December 2014, Cunningham was named head coach at Silverado High School.[26] 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 Bowl games.[27][28] Cunningham was not retained as coach at Silverado High School after two seasons in April 2017.[29]

Cunningham's jersey is part of the costume for the Always Teste character of YouTube comedian Ed Bassmaster.[30]

His daughter, Vashti Cunningham, is a track and field athlete who competed in the high jump at the 2020 Summer Olympics, placing sixth overall.[31]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Three interceptions in a single playoff game, record shared with Ron Jaworski and Donovan McNabb (who did it twice).
  2. ^ Third to Michael Vick's 8.45 yards/rush in 2006, and Beattie Feathers' 8.44 in 1934. Jim Brown holds the record for rushers with over 200 carries in a season, with 6.40 in 1963.

References

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  1. ^ "Santa Barbara High School". Archived from the original on September 15, 2007. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
  2. ^ "Randall Cunningham practices with Santa Barbara High". Archived from the original on September 8, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
  3. ^ California State Meet Results - 1915 to present
  4. ^ "Members of UNLV's 1984 football team converge for reunion". October 19, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  5. ^ "1985 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  6. ^ "Where are they now? Randall Cunningham". Archived from the original on September 16, 2009. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  7. ^ "Career Stats-NFL.com". NFL.com. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  8. ^ Larimer, Terry (September 3, 1991). "Cunningham Is an Eagle With a Nightmare". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  9. ^ "Cunningham Retires To Broadcast Booth | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  10. ^ Murphy, Austin (December 7, 1998). "Second Coming Rejuvenated after a year in retirement, Randall Cunningham is setting the league on its ear and leading the Vikings to new heights". Sports Illustrated Vault. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  11. ^ "Cunningham Returns, Signs One-Year Deal With Minnesota | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  12. ^ Freeman, Mike (October 6, 1998). "PRO FOOTBALL; Big Plays, Big Victory For Vikings". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  13. ^ Freeman, Mike (October 31, 1999). "PRO FOOTBALL: NOTEBOOK; From All-Pro to All-Clipboard for Cunningham". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  14. ^ "Vikings release Randall Cunningham - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  15. ^ "Cowboys Sign QB Cunningham - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. December 24, 1998. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  16. ^ Orton, Kathy (May 30, 2001). "Cunningham to Join Ravens". Washington Post. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  17. ^ "Randall Cunningham will re-sign with Eagles and then retire". The Morning Call. August 16, 2002. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  18. ^ "Las Vegas Weekly". Archived from the original on March 6, 2007. Retrieved November 28, 2006.
  19. ^ Gutierrez, Paul (July 10, 2020). "Ex-MVP Cunningham joins Raiders as chaplain". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  20. ^ Keefer, Case (December 14, 2009). "Silverado hires Randall Cunningham as offensive coordinator". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
  21. ^ "Randall Cunningham's son dies in hot tub accident". USA Today. June 30, 2010.
  22. ^ Koster, Kyle (June 30, 2010). "Randall Cunningham's 2-year-old son drowns in hot tub". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010.
  23. ^ Anderson, Mark (June 30, 2010). "Son of ex-Rebel Cunningham drowns". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010.
  24. ^ "Cunningham resigns as Silverado aide". Nevada Preps. August 17, 2011.
  25. ^ "Top 100 Modern Quarterbacks: 40-21". Football Nation. July 26, 2012. Archived from the original on October 30, 2012.
  26. ^ Ray Brewer (December 29, 2014). "Silverado High hires NFL great Randall Cunningham". Las Vegas Sun.
  27. ^ Brewer, Ray (December 25, 2015). "More than a sprinter: Silverado's Clayton goes from track prospect to football recruit". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  28. ^ "Jeremiah Pritchard - Football". University of Hawai'i at Manoa Athletics. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  29. ^ J.A. Barnett (April 21, 2017). "Randall Cunningham not retained as coach by Las Vegas high school". USA Today.
  30. ^ Epstein, Adam (August 3, 2015). "The Philadelphia man who beheaded a Canadian hitchhiking robot was caught on video". Quartz. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  31. ^ Anderson, Mark (August 5, 2021). "Vashti Cunningham only US hope in Olympic high jump". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
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