PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers coach Darryl Drake has died. He was 62.
The team said Drake, who joined the coaching staff in 2018, died early Sunday morning.
"Darryl had such an impact on the players he coached and everyone he worked with throughout his entire career," Steelers president Art Rooney II said. "He was a passionate coach and had a tremendous spirit toward life, his family, his faith and the game of football."
Drake, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, played collegiately at Western Kentucky. He spent one season in the Canadian Football League and participated in a pair of NFL training camps before returning to Western Kentucky to pursue a master's degree. He went into coaching as a graduate assistant at Western Kentucky in 1983, the beginning of a career that included stops in the college ranks at Georgia, Baylor and Texas.
Statement from Head Coach Mike Tomlin:
Darryl was a close friend and had a tremendous impact on my coaching career. He was an amazing husband, father and grandfather, and it is difficult to put into words the grief our entire team is going through right now.
Darryl loved the game of football and every player he ever coached. We will use our faith to guide us and help his family throughout the difficult time.
My heart and our prayers are with his wife, Sheila, and Darryl’s entire family.