King's Corner

TRADING E-MAIL WITH...
Former NFL coach Sam Wyche

SI: How did you wind up in Pickens, S.C.?

Wyche: My wife was born and raised in Pickens. Now every third guy I meet tells me he used to date her. I'm just glad this is a small town.

SI: Why is your voice so weak?

Wyche: A couple of years ago I was having a biopsy on lymph nodes taken from my chest. The good news is there was no cancer. The bad news is that the nerve to my left vocal cord was inadvertently severed. The result is what NFL officials were wishing for for years: I can't raise my voice.

SI: What are you doing now?

Wyche: I'm a substitute teacher in Pickens County. I'm an unpaid quarterbacks coach at Pickens High. I write an NFL column in The Pickens Sentinel. I'm trying to write a book called Tales of the Bengals. Oh, yeah, I just invented the Internet, too.

SI: Which NFL team do you most love watching now?

Wyche: It's not a team. I could watch Michael Vick in the I p.m., 4 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Sunday games and sit there with chips and dip waiting for Monday night. He's a cartel of every skill that quarterbacks can have.

SI: Still want to coach?