By Joe Mason
Times Sports Editor
Ever since little league, Frank Wycheck expected a lot out of his football career.
He got even more than he’d hoped for.
Wycheck, an Archbishop Ryan High School graduate who was a running back for the Raiders, went on to play in the National Football League for 11 years, a career that started with the Washington Redskins, who drafted him in the sixth round in 1993, and ended with his retirement from the Tennessee Titans on Jan. 23.
Nine of those years were spent with the Titans, including his first season when the team, then known as the Oilers, played in Houston before moving to Tennessee.
You might say that football was very good to Frank Wycheck. During his tenure with the Titans, the receiver grabbed 482 balls for 4,958 yards and 27 touchdowns. For his career, which started with two seasons on the Redskins, Wycheck had 505 catches, ranking him fourth in the NFL all-time among tight ends.
He also had a huge hand in one of the greatest plays in NFL history during the Titans’ run to the Super Bowl in 2000.
It occurred in the first round of the playoffs with the Titans trailing Buffalo, 16-15, with 15 seconds left in the game. He received a kickoff and immediately lateraled the ball to wideout Kevin Dyson, who raced 75 yards for an improbable touchdown and a Titans victory.
The play — which came to be called the “Music City Miracle” — remains a staple of highlight films that pay tribute to incredible sports plays.
And it’s likely that Frank Wycheck will see it for years to come. Even though the former Chalfont resident can look back on his football days with satisfaction, and there certainly are parts of it that he’ll miss, he’s happy to have called it a career.
“I’ll miss the guys . . . I’ll miss that aspect of it,” the 32-year-old Wycheck said. “But I won’t miss training camp, where you have to put on pads in ninety-plus-degrees. You form a relationship with the guys during training camp, and I’ll miss that, but I’m looking forward to retirement.
“Don’t get me wrong, I loved playing football,” Wycheck said. “It was my dream since I was a little kid, and even at age five I wanted to play professional football, and I never lost focus. But I had a great career, I had a lot of fun, and now it’s time to move on.”
It’s also time to get back to family life, he added. Season after season, the rigorous schedule in pro football — summer camp, constant workouts, film study, practice and meetings, and, of course, the games — kept Wycheck from his family a lot of the time.
A dedicated husband and father, Wycheck is looking forward to spending the fall season with his wife, Cherryn, and his daughters Deanna, 13, and Madison, 7.
“I have a great family and I love spending as much time with them as I can,” Wycheck said. “That’s a huge bonus of retiring . . . it gives me an opportunity to be with them more and be a part of their lives.
“Football was a job and it was a commitment. The girls are getting older, and retirement will give me a chance to be with them.”
Wycheck, who lives in a suburb of Nashville, Tenn., also is making plans for life after football. Starting next month, he will co-host a sports-talk show on a Tennessee radio station. He had done something similar during his playing days, as the featured guest on a radio show who would take calls from the fans.
Wycheck also is pleased to be an assistant coach of the football team at a local high school.
“I’m really excited about both opportunities,” said Wycheck. “I really enjoyed the radio show when I was a player, and I’m hoping to give a player’s perspective on the air. That doesn’t mean I’ll be entirely pro-player all the time, but I know what those guys go through. It will be nice to have a former player’s voice.
“And high school football is definitely my speed when it comes to coaching. I’ll still be involved in football, and unlike coaching professional football, it will keep my family and me in one place, and I’m lucky enough to have an opportunity to coach at the same school as my daughters,” Wycheck said. “I’ve always said that if my family’s happy, then I’m happy, and I think this will keep us all happy.”
Wycheck’s blocking ability and knack for finding open holes in a defense made him an NFL great. But he takes the most pride in his ability to balance a demanding work schedule with the needs of his family.
And, without hesitation, he’ll tell you who set the example for him.
Wycheck’s role model was his father, Ted, a Philadelphia police officer. He provided all the guidance that Wycheck needed to become a star.
“I’m happy he got to see me play with the Redskins because he was the reason for all my success,” Wycheck said of his father, who died in 1994. “He was the foundation, and I wish he could have gone on the ride with me. He taught me all about hard work and dedication, and he’s the reason for everything I’ve accomplished.
“Through that hard work, I got to accomplish a lot. My greatest memories are the ‘Music City Miracle.’ It has something to do with me throwing the ball, but more because it was the first playoff win for the organization and it was our first win on the way to the Super Bowl that year.
“And the Super Bowl was unreal,” he said. “They announced our offense and St. Louis’ defense, so when they announced my name, it brought back so many memories. All the football memories since I was five years old.”
Wycheck also has many great memories from his hometown. A brother still lives in the Northeast and Wycheck returns to the area as often as possible — and, of course, he still keeps a close eye on the Philadelphia sports teams that he followed while growing up.
“I was a Titan, but I was still hurting when the Eagles got beat for the third time in the NFC title game last year,” Wycheck said. “And I’m still a huge Flyers fan. They are what I grew up on. I’ll always be a Titans fan, but I still love the Eagles.” ••
Sports editor Joe Mason can be reached at 215-354-3035 or jmason@phillynews.com