Former Chiefs assistant coach Dave Adolph dies at 79
%5B1%5D "Dave Adolph, an assistant coach for the Chiefs in the 1990s, died Sunday at the age of 79.")
Dave Adolph, who served as Chiefs defensive coordinator under Marty Schottenheimer in the 1990s, died Sunday. He was 79.
Adolph was Michigan’s senior defensive football analyst. He assisted Jim Tressel’s and Urban Meyer’s staffs at Ohio State and multiple staffs at Michigan during 2005-2016.
“We have lost one of the truly great ones,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh tweeted.
Adolph was KC’s defensive coordinator during 1992-94. He returned to the Chiefs as linebackers coach and assistant head coach under Gunther Cunningham for the 1999 season.
When Adolph retired after that season, Cunningham told The Star in 2000 that he relied on Adolph in his first year as head coach.
“When I needed somebody for advice, he was one of the guys I listened to,” Cunningham said. “I knew he would tell me if I was wrong as a head coach, if I was going down the wrong path.”
Adolph spent nearly a decade with the Cleveland Browns, joining Sam Rutigliano’s staff as defensive line coach in 1979 and becoming defensive coordinator in 1984.
After a one-year break, Adolph returned to Schottenheimer’s Cleveland staff in 1986 as defensive coordinator during the team’s back-to-back AFC Championship games in 1986 and 1987.
Adolph was also with the San Diego Chargers in 1985 and 1995-96 and the Oakland Raiders in 1989-91 and 1997-98.
He worked with Woody Hayes at Ohio State (1977-78) and served as Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator at the University of San Diego (2004-07).
Adolph also coached at Akron (1963-64), Connecticut (1965-68), Kentucky (1969-72) and Illinois (1973-76).
This story was originally published February 12, 2017 at 10:53 PM with the headline "Former Chiefs assistant coach Dave Adolph dies at 79."