Cunningham died over the weekend after a bout with cancer. He was 72.
An NFL coach for more than three decades, Cunningham had two coaching stints with the Chiefs. He served as defensive coordinator (and then head coach) from 1995 through 2000, and then returned as defensive coordinator from 2004 through 2008.
Born in Munich, Germany, just after World War II — his father an American serviceman and his mother a German citizen — Cunningham came to the United States at the age of 10. He spoke no English when he arrived and had to endure bullying from schoolmates over his German accent and heritage.