Celebrity Death Thread

[YT]

Very sad

[Malto Marko]

not really sure where to drop this:

The 2-year-old son of former NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham has died in an apparent accidental drowning in the hot tub at the family home in Las Vegas.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Christian Cunningham, who would have turned 3 in December, died after being found floating in the backyard hot tub.

Randall Cunningham is pastor of Remnant Ministries and performs baptisms in the hot tub at his home, the paper reports. He was not home at the time.

According to the report, a woman at Cunningham's house was with several children when she found Christian at about 4:30 p.m. The woman pulled Christian out and began performing CPR until paramedics arrived, and he was taken to St. Rose Dominican Hospital, where he died.

Cunningham went to UNLV and played 16 seasons in the NFL, making four Pro Bowls. He retired following the 2001 season.

Sounds like a case of a kid seeing people using the tub and venturing in because he is mobile.

.....also sounds like the care of the most precious things in life were delegated to someone who thought they were watching the dog.

What a terrible price to pay for not taking care of what is most precious to you.

[Islair]

just awful

[Malto Marko]

just awful

The awful parts are that the parents did not make sure the tub was not available for rug rats to crawl into.

Even if he was not at home, he is an accessory.

[DanO]

"The awful parts are that the parents did not make sure the tub was not available for rug rats to crawl into."
---------------------Yep.

GO LIONS "10" !!!!!!!!!!

[FVD]

R.I.P. Air Coryell

SAN DIEGO -- Don Coryell, the innovative coach whose Air Coryell offense produced some of the most dynamic passing attacks in NFL history, has died. He was 85.

The San Diego Chargers confirmed Coryell died Thursday at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in suburban La Mesa. The team did not release the cause of death, but Coryell had been in poor health for some time.

"We've lost a man who has contributed to the game of pro football in a very lasting way with his innovations and with his style," Hall of Famer Dan Fouts, the quarterback who made Air Coryell fly, said from Oregon. "They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery -- look around, it's there."

Coryell was one of the founding fathers of the modern passing game. He coached at San Diego State from 1961-72 and went 104-19-2. He left the Aztecs for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1973. With Jim Hart at quarterback, the Cardinals won division titles in 1974 and '75 behind Coryell.

Fouts said he became friends with Coryell after the two were finished with football.

"It's not just me," Fouts said. "All his players, Aztecs, Cardinals, Chargers, to a man, would tell you that he was their friend."

Coryell returned to San Diego when he was hired by the Chargers on Sept. 25, 1978, the same day a Pacific Southwest Airlines jet crashed into a North Park neighborhood after colliding with a small plane, killing all 137 people on the two planes and seven people on the ground.

"It's crazy that when you look back at the history of this city, he got hired on the same day as that PSA crash," said Hank Bauer, who was a running back and special teams star with the Chargers then. "That really was one of the darkest days in this city's history and it became one of the brightest days in the history of sports.

"He walked in and met our team for the time and he was just this little bundle of energy, flying around the meeting. He said, 'You know what? We're going to have fun, and we're going to cry and laugh and battle our [behinds] off, but we're going to have fun.' We had fun for a lot of years."

From 1978-86, Air Coryell -- led by Fouts -- set records and led the NFL in passing almost every season. Coryell guided the Chargers to the AFC championship game after the 1980 and '81 seasons, but he never reached the Super Bowl.

The lack of a Super Bowl on his resume may have hurt Coryell last winter in voting for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was a finalist for the first time, but was not selected for induction.

"He revolutionized the game of football, not only in San Diego, but throughout the entire NFL," Chargers president Dean Spanos said in a statement. "Don Coryell was a legend not only with the Chargers but throughout San Diego. Though unfortunately he did not live long enough to see it, hopefully one day his bust will find its proper place in Pro Football's Hall of Fame. He will be missed."

The big stars of the Air Coryell years -- Fouts, tight end Kellen Winslow and wide receiver Charlie Joiner -- all ended up in the Hall of Fame. Winslow was used more as a pass catcher than a blocker, and sometimes would be split out wide, as would running backs.

"Don once said, 'If we're asking Kellen to block a defensive end and not catch passes, I'm not a very good coach,' " Bauer said.

One of the lasting images of the Coryell years was an exhausted Winslow being helped off the field by two teammates after the Chargers' epic 41-38 overtime victory in the playoffs over the Miami Dolphins on Jan. 2, 1982. Despite cramping up in the heat and humidity, Winslow caught 13 passes for 166 yards and one touchdown, and also blocked a potential game-winning field goal.

Bauer said Coryell changed the way opponents had to play defense, "And you see it today. When we started splitting Kellen out, for instance, teams didn't know what to do. He was a wide receiver in a tight end's body. So a lot of teams started playing zone against us and we started picking them apart. Some teams tried to put a safety or linebacker out there and play man-to-man, and we licked our chops and went with Kellen.

"Because of Air Coryell, nickel and dime defenses became an every-game proposition," Bauer said. "He changed the way the game is played today."

Fouts said Air Coryell meant many things.

"I don't know that it's so much one thing that you could point to," Fouts said. "It was an attitude of fearlessness and aggressiveness and of fun. He was not afraid to try new things. He was not afraid to attack the entire length and breadth of a football field. He wanted his players to enjoy it."

In 14 NFL season, Coryell had a record of 111-83-1.

Coryell is the first coach to win 100 games in college and pro football and is a member of the college Hall of Fame.

"Here's the secret to Don -- outside of the Xs and Os, his players and his family were the most important things in the world," Bauer said. "It had nothing to do with money or fame. It was all about family, team and winning and the game, and respect."

[Chuck Cunningham]

Went to the famous Miami - San Diego playoff game when I was vacationing in Florida. Great memories.

[DanO]

RIP Coach.

GO LIONS "10" !!!!!!!!!!

[Agile]

Went to the famous Miami - San Diego playoff game when I was vacationing in Florida. Great memories.

Wow, you were at that game? Amazing! One of my earliest football memories.

[DetroitDad08]

RIP

[DanO]

"One of my earliest football memories."
-----------------You remember Chucky being at the game?

GO LIONS "10" !!!!!!!!!!

[Agile]

Haha. Good one.

[Drew]

Coryell was shown at a Chargers home playoff game a couple of years ago, and I remember thinking he didn't look too healthy then. I rooted for SD while he coached. RIP Don.

[DanO]

RIP Bob Probert.

GO LIONS "10" !!!!!!!!!!

[DetroitDad08]

I was reading that there has not been confirmation of death on Probert.