Former Tennessee Titans tight end Frank Wycheck, famously one of the key players in the Music City Miracle in the AFC Wild-Card playoff game against the Buffalo Bills in 2000, has died. According to The Tennessean, Wycheck died after falling and hitting his head in his Chattanooga, Tenn. home on Saturday.
Wycheck was with the Titans from 1995 until 2003 and was the passer at the center of the iconic NFL play that led to a last-second 75-yard touchdown and a 22-16 win for the Titans. Before the moment, the team had been trailing the Bills by one point with just sixteen seconds on the clock.
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“Frank was beloved by everybody. There was never a time when we didn’t speak highly of Frank. It was a shock and sad to hear the news earlier this morning,” former Titans wideout Derrick Mason said after the news broke. “After he retired, Frank was one of those guys if you saw him at an event, it was a good time. He was one of the guys that I wanted to see. There was just something about Frank that drew you in.”
Wycheck played at Maryland in college, landing with Washington in the sixth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He remained in D.C. for two seasons before joining Tennessee in 1995 and growing into a staple of the team. When he retired in 2003, he ended with 505 catches, 5,126 yards and 28 touchdowns across 155 games. He earned three total Pro Bowl appearances, one Super Bowl appearance fueled by his famous play, and was named an All-Pro in 2000.
He retired at 32 after suffering several concussions, moving to sports media as a color analyst for Titans’ games, and hosted a morning sports talk show on WGFX-FM 104.5 titled The Wake Up Zone. “I did everything I set out to do and much more,” he said when he retired, according to The Tennesseean. “From a guy who wasn’t even supposed to be in a training camp, let alone to where I ended up, I’m truly proud and I couldn’t ask for anything more. It’s been a truly great ride.”
The former NFL star had just moved to Chattanooga over the summer to be closer to family. He is survived by his daughters, Deanna and Madison, and three grandchildren, Leo, Stevie, and August. His family also noted that there are plans to work with ongoing research into brain injuries and CTE.
