ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) Former Cincinnati Bengals standout Ken
Riley, who was later a head coach and athletic director at his alma
mater Florida A&M, died Sunday, the university announced. He was 72.
Riley played 15 seasons for the Bengals as a defensive back, with
65 career interceptions for 596 yards and five touchdowns – all
franchise records. The interceptions rank fifth in NFL history. He
also recovered 18 fumbles.
Before his NFL career, Riley was a four-year starter at quarterback
for the Rattlers.
”FAMU athletics and the entire Rattler Nation is deeply saddened
of the passing of former FAMU football player, head coach,
athletics director and NFL great Ken Riley,” Vice President and
Director of Athletics Kortne Gosha said in a statement. ”We wish
his family our deepest condolences.”
Riley, who was African American, was chosen in the sixth round of
the 1969 NFL draft by the Bengals, who under coach Paul Brown
decided to convert him to cornerback. At the time, black starting
quarterbacks in the NFL were all but unheard of. Riley retired in
1983.
”Everybody here loved Kenny. He had everyone’s respect,” Bengals
owner Mike Brown said in a statement. ”When he came here, Kenny
and Lemar Parrish had never played cornerback, and they’re the two
best we’ve ever had. And we’ve had a lot of good ones. We put him
over there for a decade and a half and we didn’t have to worry
about it. … I’m going to miss him. He was a good guy and a solid
man.”
Riley spent two seasons as an assistant with the Green Bay Packers
before taking over as coach at Florida A&M, where he went 48-39-2
from 1986-93. He won two Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference titles and
was a two-time MEAC coach of the year.
Despite his accomplishments, Riley never made it into the Pro
Football Hall of Fame, although he is in the Florida A&M and Black
College Football halls of fame, and was one of 33 players named to
the Florida High School Association All-Century Team. He played in
high school at Union Academy in Bartow, Florida.
The school said Riley died in Bartow. A cause of death was not
released.
The current Rattlers coach, Willie Simmons, said Riley will be
missed.
”I woke up this morning with a heavy heart as I learned of the
passing of FAMU and NFL great Ken Riley,” Simmons said in a
statement. ”Coach Riley was one of the first to welcome me to the
`FAMULY’ and having him speak to our team before our first Orange
and Green game is definitely at the top of my list of unforgettable
moments as head coach here at FAMU.”
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