Former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham has died at the age of 72 http://www.lionslockerroom.com/authentic-calvin-johnson-jersey , the Pro Football Writers of America Association announced on Monday morning. Cunningham’s coaching goes all..." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhitePride Of Detroita Detroit Lions communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsSectionsLibraryLionsOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Detroit Lions NewsDetroit Lions NotesDetroit Lions AnalysisDetroit Lions TransactionsDetroit Lions Game RecapsFiled under:Detroit Lions NewsFormer Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham dies at age 72New,42commentsEDTShareTweetShareShareFormer Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham dies at age 72Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty ImagesFormer Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham has died at the age of 72, the Pro Football Writers of America Association announced on Monday morning. Cunningham’s coaching goes all the way back to 1969, when he served as the defensive line coach for the Oregon Ducks. After spending 13 years at the college level, Cunningham finally got his shot at the pros in 1982 as the defensive line and linebackers coach of the Baltimore Colts. From there Frank Ragnow Jersey White , he earned his first coordinator job in 1992 with the Los Angeles Raiders and got a head coaching job with the Chiefs by the end of the decade.He first joined the Detroit Lions in 2009, hired by new head coach Jim Schwartz as the team’s defensive coordinator. A few years later, the Lions would have one of the most feared defenses in the league. He would eventually drop out of coaching and become a senior coaching assistant with the team for a few years. In 2017, he decided to drop out completely and help with football analytics site Pro Football Focus.The Lions offered this official statement on the passing of Cunningham: Last Sunday’s narrow win by the Chiefs over the Lions included a 14-point swing that happened when Detroit running back Kerryon Johnson fumbled at the goal line and Kansas City cornerback Bashaud Breeland scooped it up and ran it the other way for a touchdown.The officials didn’t blow the whistle to kill the play, preventing what may have been an eventual decision via replay review that the Chiefs recovered the ball at their own one Devon Kennard Jersey White , but wiping out the 99-yard return. And that’s generally a good thing, given that the officials opted to whistle dead an obvious Jared Goff fumble in Week Two’s Saints-Rams game, nullifying what would have been a long touchdown return by New Orleans defensive end Cam Jordan.But there’s a potential donut hole that arises from swallowing the whistle in moments like this. And it was illustrated by the weekly video from NFL senior V.P. of officiating Al Riveron.“We were not sure here if the ball is loose or if the runner has control of the football when he hits the ground,” Riveron explained regarding the review of the play to determine whether Johnson was down before fumbling. “There is nothing clear and obvious — no clear and obvious visual evidence to allow us to change the ruling on the field of a fumble.”While the evidence suggests that the ball was out, it’s possible that the play falls into the broad gulf where lack of a clean Womens Theo Riddick Jersey , clear shot through a scrum of bodies prevents ruling on the field from being overturned later. If, for example, the whistle had been blown, would Riveron have been able to say that the clear and obvious visual evidence showed that Johnson had fumbled?Thus, at a time when there’s pressure on the officials to let the play continue (indeed Womens Matthew Stafford Jersey , Riveron congratulated the crew for not killing the play, even though there’s still a chance it wasn’t a fumble), there’s a very real risk that an accidental failure to blow the whistle won’t be fixable via replay review. There’s also a very real risk that, in cases where the visual evidence will easily overturn the ruling on the field of a fumble, someone will suffer a serious injury that would have been avoided if the officials had simply trusted their eyes and ended the action.And maybe that’s ultimately the right answer for officials Danny Amendola Jersey , especially when a potential fumble happens in the middle of a cluster of bodies: Make the decision as to whether the play should end or continue based on what you see now, not on what you assume Riveron may see later.