Philadelphia Eagles: Throwback Thursday, Randall Cunningham

Randall Cunningham played 11 seasons at quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles and won the MVP for the team in 1990. We look back at his stellar career.

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If you head out to Henderson, Nevada to catch a high school football game you may see a familiar face roaming the sidelines. In 2014, the Silverado High School football team got a new head coach in former NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham.

While Cunningham can surely pass some wisdom onto those kids about how to play football, they may never know just how truly great their coach was at the game he now teaches.

Eagles

Cunningham spent 16 seasons in the NFL and was the Philadelphia Eagles Most Valuable Player in 1990 and managed the same feat with the 1998 Minnesota Vikings. However, on this “Throwback Thursday” we will look back at just the 11 seasons he spent wowing the fans in the City of Brotherly Love.

A second round pick in 1985, Cunningham started out behind Ron Jaworski. In 1986, new head  coach Buddy Ryan decided he liked the youngsters scrambling so much, he would take out the veteran Jaworski on third-and-longs in hopes that his ability to extend plays could pay off.

In 1987, Cunningham finally took the starting job and led the team to seven wins in his 12 starts that season. Randall completed just over 54 percent of his passes and had less than 3,000 yards but still managed 23 touchdowns to just 12 picks that year. He added another 505 yards and three rushing touchdowns that season and was quickly becoming a fan favorite.

He even showed off his versatility by handling punting duties at times for Philly. In 1989, Cunningham had six punts go for 319 yards, with a long of 91-yards.

By 1990, Cunningham was becoming simply unstoppable. The dual-threat passer had evolved into one of the best offensive weapons in the NFL. The sixth-year quarterback threw for 3,466 yards with 30 touchdown passes. He added another 942 yards and five touchdowns on the ground for Philly. Unfortunately for Cunningham and the Eagles though, the season ended with a third-straight one-and-done playoff appearance.

Sadly for Cunningham and Eagles fans alike, the following season ended abruptly as a torn ACL in Week 1 sent him to the injured reserve. The highlight reel quarterback was able to return with a vengeance in 1992 as he played in 15 games and led the Eagles to a 10-5 record in his starts.

That season Cunningham threw for 2,775 yards with 19 touchdowns and 11 picks. He showed some of the same exciting running ability as he had 549 yards and five touchdowns, but that burst he once had just wasn’t the same.

The NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award was given to the Eagles starter who helped the team snap a 12-year streak with no playoff wins. As great as things were that year though, it was the beginning of the end as the knee injury took it’s toll on the explosive play-maker.

Injuries limited him the next three seasons as he started just 22 games during that stretch. Unhappy with an ensuing demotion, the quarterback announced his retirement following the 1995 season.

He would return after a year off and led the Minnesota Vikings to the NFC title game in 1998, but his role by then had shifted from a run-first to a pass-first quarterback.

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As for Philly fans though, they will always remember the quarterback who Buddy Ryan told to throw first, and run second.