As a former NFL coach and television personality, Sam Wyche has a platform.
And he wants to make sure he uses it for good, and would like the NFL to help him.
The former Buccaneers and Bengals coach was told by doctors down to his final day when he received a life-saving heart transplant in September. And now that he’s recovering well, he wants to spread the word about organ donation, and has lobbied teams and the league for help.
“You just stand up and shoot it,” Wyche said, via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. “‘My name is Sam Wyche, and I’m an organ donor. You should be, too.’ Boom. It’d take about 3½ seconds.
“One a quarter and all of a sudden you have a lot of exposure. I wouldn’t be here unless somebody had put on their driver’s license that they wanted to be a donor. I’ve been given a second chance and want to see if I can help somebody else get one.”
Wyche is back home in South Carolina now, walking and exercising daily. He was hoping to get back to Tampa in November to see John Lynch inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor, but doctors told him he shouldn’t fly for three months after his surgery.
So his message to his old fans in Florida was simple.
“Help spread the word for me,” Wyche said. “It’s painless. Your fate has already been determined. You have a chance to give somebody else a second chance. It’s the last and most important gift you can give.”
The NFL may not go along with it, because it has pet causes already and would quickly be overwhelmed by other worthy efforts. But we can help Wyche spread the word, and we just did.