{{Short description|American football player and coach (1956–2019)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}} {{Infobox NFL biography | name = Darryl Drake | image = Darryl Drake in 2014.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Drake in 2014 | current_team = | position = | birth_date = {{birth date|1956|12|11}} | birth_place = Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2019|8|11|1956|12|11}} | death_place = Latrobe, Pennsylvania, U.S. | height_ft = 5 | height_in = 8 | weight_lbs = | high_school = Louisville (KY) Flaget | college = Western Kentucky | undraftedyear = 1979 | pastteams = * Washington Redskins ({{nfly|1979}})* * Ottawa Rough Riders ({{cfly|1981}})* * Cincinnati Bengals ({{nfly|1983}})* | pastcoaching = * Western Kentucky (1983–1984)<br>Graduate assistant * Western Kentucky (1985–1988)<br>Wide receivers coach * Western Kentucky (1989–1990)<br>Defensive backs coach * Western Kentucky (1991)<br>Quarterbacks coach * Georgia (1992–1996)<br>Wide receivers coach * Baylor (1997)<br>Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach * Texas (1998–2002)<br>Wide receivers coach * Texas (2003)<br>Associate head coach & wide receivers coach * Chicago Bears ({{nfly|2004}}–{{nfly|2012}})<br>Wide receivers coach * Arizona Cardinals ({{nfly|2013}}–{{nfly|2017}})<br>Wide receivers coach * Pittsburgh Steelers ({{nfly|2018}}–{{nfly|2019}})<br>Wide receivers coach | highlights = | pfrcoach = }}
'''Darryl Drake''' (December 11, 1956 – August 11, 2019) was an American football player and coach. His career spanned four decades, including stints as the wide receivers coach of the Chicago Bears, Arizona Cardinals, and Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL).
==College career== Drake played wide receiver for Western Kentucky University from 1975 to 1978.<ref name="Chicago Bears">{{Cite web|url=http://www.chicagobears.com/team/coaches/Darryl-Drake/8fe76eca-7be6-42ec-afdb-d1495083be5b|title=Chicago Bears|website=Chicagobears.om|accessdate=August 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304115918/http://www.chicagobears.com/team/coaches/Darryl-Drake/8fe76eca-7be6-42ec-afdb-d1495083be5b|archive-date=March 4, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2023, he was inducted into the Western Kentucky University Athletic Hall of Fame.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}}
==Professional career== Drake played wide receiver for three professional teams, the Washington Redskins in 1979, the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1981, and the Cincinnati Bengals in 1983.<ref name="Chicago Bears"/>
==Coaching career== Drake coached at the collegiate level for 21 years. He joined the Chicago Bears coaching staff on February 6, 2004.<ref name="Chicago Bears"/> On January 17, 2013, Drake was not retained by new head coach Marc Trestman.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mayer|first=Larry|url=http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1/Trestman-in-process-of-assembling-coaching-staff/4f4113be-7fad-45e3-9f02-65c7ad031dbd|title=Trestman in process of assembling coaching staff|publisher=Chicago Bears|date=January 17, 2013|accessdate=January 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120194411/http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1/Trestman-in-process-of-assembling-coaching-staff/4f4113be-7fad-45e3-9f02-65c7ad031dbd|archive-date=January 20, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> He later spent five seasons with the Arizona Cardinals before joining the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018.<ref>{{cite news|last=Klinger|first=Jacob|url=https://www.pennlive.com/steelers/2018/01/steelers_wr_coach_darryl_drake.html|title=Steelers hire Darryl Drake as receivers coach: report|newspaper=The Patriot-News|date=January 20, 2018|accessdate=August 11, 2019}}</ref>
==Personal life== Drake and his wife, Sheila, had three daughters. He died on August 11, 2019, at the age of 62. The official cause of death has not been made public, although it's been reported that Drake experienced chest pains and declined an overnight hospital stay in the days before he died.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nfl.com/news/steelers-wr-coach-darryl-drake-dies-at-age-of-62-0ap3000001040859|title=Steelers WR coach Darryl Drake dies at age of 62|work=NFL.com|date=August 11, 2019|access-date=August 11, 2019}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{commons category-inline}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Darryl}} Category:1956 births Category:2019 deaths Category:American football wide receivers Category:Chicago Bears coaches Category:Flaget High School alumni Category:Georgia Bulldogs football coaches Category:Players of American football from Louisville, Kentucky Category:Texas Longhorns football coaches Category:Arizona Cardinals coaches Category:Pittsburgh Steelers coaches Category:Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football coaches Category:Baylor Bears football coaches Category:Washington Redskins players Category:Ottawa Rough Riders players Category:Cincinnati Bengals players Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:21st-century African-American sportsmen Category:21st-century American sportsmen