Longtime NFL assistant coach Willie Peete dies at 87

Willie Peete, who had a long career as an assistant coach and had two sons with long NFL careers of their own, has died at the age of 87.

Peete was on the coaching staffs of the Kansas City Chiefs from 1983 to 1986, the Packers from 1987 to 1991, the Buccaneers from 1992 to 1994 and the Bears from 1995 to 1997. He also spent many years as a college assistant coach.

Peete played fullback at Arizona in the 1950s and was hired as a graduate assistant for the Wildcats in 1960. That began a decades-long coaching career at both the college and pro levels.

Peete’s older son Skip Peete is currently the running backs coach of the Buccaneers and has been an NFL assistant since 1998. His younger son Rodney Peete came in second in Heisman Trophy balloting at USC in 1988 and had a 16-year career as an NFL quarterback. Peete was also the second-cousin of Calvin Peete, who was the most successful Black golfer on the PGA Tour before Tiger Woods.