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Randall Cunningham (born March 27, 1963 in Santa Barbara, California) is a former American football player, at the position of quarterback. After attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he was selected in the second round of the 1985 draft by Philadelphia Eagles, with whom he remained through the 1995 season. During the latter years his relations with Ray Rhodes, then the Eagles' head coach, became strained, and 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, with the Minnesota Vikings from 1997 through 1999, the Dallas Cowboys in 2000, and the Baltimore Ravens in 2001, before re-signing with the Philadelphia Eagles and retiring for good in 2002. He won the NFL MVP award in 1990, the height of the 'Ultimate Weapon' stories, and again after his comeback with Minnesota in 1998.
High School Years
NFL careerPhiladelphia EaglesCunningham was the Eagles second-round pick in 1985 NFL Draft. 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. 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, when he threw for 407 yards during the "Fog Bowl" playoff game against the Chicago Bears. Cunningham would occasionally exhibit sensational feats of athleticism, perhaps most notably in a 1988 game on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants. Linebacker Carl Banks torpedoed in and crunched the Eagles quarterback at the midriff for a seemingly sure tackle. Cunningham managed to twist his body in midair, put a hand down for balance while parallel to the ground, regain his footing, and pass to tight end Jimmie Giles for a touchdown. The following season, Cunningham uncorked a 91-yard punt, aided by a strong Meadowlands wind, on third down to clinch a key game against the Giants. The Giants backpedaling defense was unprepared for the punt, allowing it to bounce for more than 20 yards after it traveled 67 yards through the air.[1] As of 2006, it is the fourth-longest punt in NFL history. Another highlight staple was in a 1990 game against the Buffalo Bills, when Cunningham, throwing from his end zone, was about to be engulfed from the blind side by Bruce Smith. Cunningham ducked under the flying tackle and heaved a pass 60 yards into the wind while off-balance on his back foot to wide-receiver Fred Barnett, resulting in an unforgettable 95-yard touchdown.[2] That same year, Cunningham finished with 942 rushing yards, 3rd most ever for a quarterback, 10th best in the league. This nearly made him the first quarterback to both run and pass for 1,000 yards in a season. Cunningham also reached another notable milestone: 30 passing touchdowns and 942 yards rushing. Minnesota Vikings
Cunningham's greatest season in Minnesota and his career, was during the 1998 campaign when he guided the Vikings to a 15-1 regular season record (tied for NFL best ever since the 16 season was initiated) with 34 touchdown passes and only 10 interceptions. Cunningham led the league with a 106.0 passer rating while the Vikings posted an NFL-record 556 points all season. The Vikings cruised through the playoffs for the most part, until the NFC title game against the Atlanta Falcons, when they lost 30-27 in overtime. Cunningham had a good supporting cast that year, with All-Pro veteran receiver Cris Carter and rookie phenom Randy Moss also at receiver. 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 204 touchdowns, with 134 interceptions. He 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 and tied for fourth with Steve Grogan and Tobin Rote 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. After retirementAfter retirement, Cunningham returned to UNLV to finish his college degree. Cunningham has also been active in the music business since his retirement from the NFL by opening a recording studio and producing a musical group. Cunningham, a born again Christian, became an ordained Protestant minister and founded a church called The Cupbearer in Las Vegas in 2004. [3] LegacyCunningham arguably falls into the same genre as Barry Sanders. Despite winning numerous awards and competing against the best of their era statistically, the two never had the quality coaching or supporting cast of players offensively to win a Super Bowl throughout most of their career. Doug Scovil, the quarterbacks coach credited with developing Randall Cunningham into the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, passed away in December of 1989.[4] Fred Bruney 1-0-0 (1.000) was Cunningham's only head coach in Philadelphia who finished with an above .500 all time head coaching record in the regular season. Cunningham's head coach to date with the best winning percentage is Brian Billick 75-53 (0.586). Billick was Cunningham's head coach in Baltimore during the 2001-02 season. Ironically, Billick was Cunningham's offensive coordinator in Minnesota while the late Chip Myers [5] served as Minnesota's quarterbacks coach during the 1998-99 season. None of Randall Cunningham's offensive lineman made the Pro Bowl during his tenure in Philadelphia. Jerry Seismore was the last Philadelphia Eagles offensive linemen to make the Pro Bowl (1981-82 season) until William Thomas formerly Tra Thomas (2002-2003 season).[6] While Cunningham was an Eagle, other quarterbacks who were recipients of the Bert Bell Award for Professional American Football Player of the Year (Boomer Esiason, Joe Montana, Steve Young, and Brett Favre) had offensive linemen who made the Pro Bowl while they served as quarterback for their respective teams. Former Eagles offensive guard Mike Schad stated,"Buddy always said we were two offensive linemen away from winning a Super Bowl." [7] Ironically,former Eagles tight end Keith Jackson stated,"Buddy always said that we were two offensive linemen away from dominating and winning a Super Bowl because you have to keep the quarterback healthy," [8] Former Minnesota Vikings Randall McDaniel, Todd Steussie, and Jeff Christy would be Cunningham's first Pro Bowl offensive linemen. Despite his fame as a Super Bowl quarterback from the Chicago Bears, Jim McMahon was unable to lead the Eagles to a playoff victory when he replaced Randall for a few plays in a playoff game against the Washington Redskins during the 1990-91. When Randall Cunningham was lost for the 1991-92 season, the Eagles failed to make the playoffs despite having the number one defense in total yards. Once again when Cunningham was hurt during the 1993-94 season, the Philadelphia Eagles failed to make the playoffs. To date NFC East teams have a combined 18 Super Bowl appearances and combined 10 wins, which is the most out of any division in the NFL. During Cunningham's 11 seasons in Philadelphia, NFC East teams won 7 Super Bowls. Prior to Cunningham’s arrival in the NFL, the idea that African Americans could succeed at the quarterback position was questioned by some head coaches around the league. The late career success of Doug Williams, the amazing but unlauded play of Joe Gilliam, and sparing play of James Harris not withstanding, Randall Cunningham and Warren Moon were the first black men to lead consistently from the quarterback position. Randall’s athleticism and coach Buddy Ryan’s understanding of what kind of pressure a game-breaker like Cunningham could put on a defense, proved that a scrambler could not just survive but thrive. His success brought about the revolution of the so-called running quarterback to the modern era NFL and paved the way for players such as Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, and Vince Young. [9] Trivia
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