An autopsy reportedly indicated Uche Nwaneri died by a heart attack Friday.
Former Jacksonville Jaguars offensive Uche Nwaneri died at age 38 on Friday, according to multiple reports.
Nwaneri was reportedly visiting West Lafayette, Ind. when his wife found him unresponsive at about 1 a.m. Friday morning. An autopsy indicated a heart attack, according to the Tippecanoe County coroner.
The Jaguars announced the death on Monday afternoon.
Nwaneri was a fifth-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft and spent seven seasons with the Jaguars. After starting one game as a rookie, Nwaneri was a stalwart along the Jacksonville offensive line with 91 starts over his last six seasons with the team.
— Uche Nwaneri The Observant Lineman♎ #Snydercut (@Chukwu77) December 24, 2022
Nwaneri wasn’t scared to share his opinions during his NFL career, once hopping on the Jaguars.com message board to rip the idea of drafting Tim Tebow.
After he was released by the team in 2014, Nwaneri briefly joined the Dallas Cowboys but never played a game with the team.
Uche Nwaneri didn’t pull punches when discussing the disastrous Jaguars head coaching search.
Even if Jacksonville comes away from this coaching carousel with the right guy, it will be hard to avoid criticizing the way the team has gone about the process. Uncertainty with the situation surrounding Trent Baalke (who has retained his spot as general manager, at least for now) seems to have hamstrung the search and has limited what was once a wide candidate pool.
The Jags still don’t have a hire and don’t seem to be particularly close to making one. Rumors broke on Sunday that the team wanted to interview Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, but with Los Angeles bound for the Super Bowl, the team would have to wait two weeks to talk to him after neglecting to interview him before the divisional round.
The franchise — and owner Shad Khan, specifically — has been a frequent target of criticism for the way it has undertaken the search, including from former players. Uche Nwaneri, who spent the bulk of his playing career with the Jaguars from 2007-13, had harsh words for Khan and the front office.
Funny thing about the Jaguars incompetent coach search is that players are entering the arena who NEVER were even considered just 5 days ago. Now the "brain trust" is looking at the Rams OC.
This makes no sense as now the Jags have to wait 2 more weeks to interview. LUNACY🤡
— Uche Nwaneri(The Observant Lineman)♎ #Snydercut (@Chukwu77) January 31, 2022
He certainly raises a valid point. It’s nothing against O’Connell, in particular, as the 36-year-old seems to have a very positive reputation around the league. But if he is such a good candidate, he should have been part of the search from the get-go. It’s too late in the process for surprise candidates to arise, and by not interviewing him before the deadline, the team now finds itself in limbo.
At one point, it seemed like an announcement regarding Byron Leftwich was imminent, but there haven’t been any updates in that regard. There are rumors that Leftwich doesn’t want to work with Baalke, and Nwaneri has his own theory about the situation.
Word on the street is Baalke is actively trying to sabotage Byron Leftwich because BL does not want TB and of course, Baalke is part of the decision making. Doesn't surprise me one bit. If Shad Khan ends up skipping on Byron, will only confirm he should sell the Jags.
— Uche Nwaneri(The Observant Lineman)♎ #Snydercut (@Chukwu77) January 31, 2022
The substance of these rumors is yet to be confirmed or refuted, but it would certainly make sense given Baalke’s reputation around the league if his presence was a sticking point in taking the job. Regardless, this has been a mess for the Jags, and it only gets worse as each day passes without a new head coach being introduced.
Several Dallas Cowboys who played wither with or for Jason Garrett reacted to news that he had been let go by the team Sunday night.
On Wednesday, Jerry Jones ushered in a new era of Cowboys head coaching, introducing Mike McCarthy as the ninth leader in Dallas franchise history. During the press conference, he referenced his reverence for the man leaving the post, Jason Garrett, and how found he was of the man and his family.
Jones noted that since he’s owned the team, starting in 1989, there’s only been two seasons where a Garrett wasn’t under his employ, starting with John Garrett, a long-time member of the scouting department and then with Jason’s playing career. Jones hasn’t been the only one waxing poetic about Garrett’s tenure ending, as his players – past and present – chimed in as well.
Word came down during the NFC Wild Card game- the one Dallas had hoped to be playing in- that the Cowboys had officially moved on from Garrett. After nine and a half roller-coaster seasons and one supremely bizarre week, the man in charge on the sidelines was no longer with the team.
In the hours that followed, many of the men who played for and with him were quick to share their support, gratitude, and- in some cases- other general reaction to the news.
Defensive tackle Antwaun Woods wasn’t able to stick on the roster in Tennessee, but found a home in Dallas under Garrett’s watch. He has seen action in 25 games over his two seasons as a Cowboy.
After coming from a place where I was labeled as a “practice squad player” Coach Garret told me I was the right guy for the team and is what this team is all about & that they needed me. For that I’m forever grateful 🤝. Thanks Coach. pic.twitter.com/bgi7iyjDdz
Fifth-year journeyman Justin March bounced around from Kansas City to Miami to Seattle before landing on the Cowboys linebacker corps early in the 2017 season. Garrett often praised players who showed “relentless spirit;” March reflected on that same quality in his former coach on Sunday night.
Not too many coaches I’ve been around that was as passionate about coaching football than JG. Every single day he brought energy to the building. We would walk in half asleep at 5:45 am and it’s like he’d been up for 2 hours already💙 this was everyday of the week.That is PASSION
Special teams assistant Phillip Tanner spent time under Garrett as a running back and special teams player from 2011 through the 2013 season. In 2019, Garrett welcomed him back to Dallas, naming Tanner to the coaching staff as a special teams assistant.
Just an inner city kid from Oak Cliff TX. I wasn’t even supposed to be here! Coach you believed in me as a player, then as a coach, ultimately you believed in me as a MAN! I am forever indebted. #StandTall#GarrettGuypic.twitter.com/1UBEiTHNiJ
Garrett’s release wasn’t a surprise, of course. Some players were asked about the seemingly-inevitable change in the moments that immediately followed the Week 17 game against Washington that ended their 8-8 season.
“It’s going to be hard,” running back Ezekiel Elliott told reporters on December 29. “Change is always hard. But we have a great group of men in this locker room. Not too worried. We’ve got a lot of vets, a lot of great players. I think we’ll be all right.”
Even though Elliott’s remarks reinforce the notion that the writing had been on the wall in Dallas for some time, it took another full week for ownership to officially sever ties with Garrett. Whether that seven-day standoff was more about owner Jerry Jones doing some true soul searching or just masterful news-cycle manipulating is up for debate.
Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman worked closely with Garrett during his playing days in Dallas and still considers him a friend. In the matter of how Garrett’s release was handled by his ex-employer during a week that started with vague speculation and mixed messages about showing Garrett “respect” yet ended with new coaching candidates being interviewed while Garrett was still in the building, Aikman sided with his former backup.
“He committed everything he had to the organization and to doing the best job that he could,” Aikman said of Garrett in an interview with Mike Doocy of Fox 4 in Dallas. “He made it a priority, and he committed himself. Breakups are always hard- we all understand that, at whatever level they occur- but I don’t know that after all that he gave and committed to this organization, that he received the same in return. When the organization was unwilling for whatever reasons- and I don’t know the backstories to it all- but when the organization was unwilling to come out publicly and say that, ‘We are seeking a new coach,’ and yet at the same time, reports are coming out that they’re interviewing potential new candidates for the head coaching position, that’s disappointing. I think, in a lot of ways, it shines a light on some of the dysfunction, if you will, within the organization and kind of how they got to the point that they’re in now.”
Former NFL lineman Uche Nwaneri had a similarly bold take on the culture in Dallas, as laid out in a Reddit thread in which he blasts the “alternate universe” that Garrett helped the front office sell to players “in which the Cowboys were defending Super Bowl champs.”
Not everyone connected to Garrett during his time with the franchise was sympathetic to how his tenure finally ended. Wideout Dez Bryant has been a vocal critic of the 53-year-old coach ever since he was released by the Cowboys in 2018 after eight seasons.
I don’t have no sympathy for coach Garrett losing his job
Bryant and Garrett had a tumultuous relationship, so his comments are not exactly surprising. How prescient he is about the Cowboys automatically becoming “real contenders” simply by breaking up with Jason Garrett remains to be seen.
That onus now falls on McCarthy to take the baton and get the franchise across the finish line.
An examination of the Dallas Cowboys’ culture and environment provided by former player Uche Nwaneri on social media.
In today’s saturated social media world, NFL players, both current and former, often take to the internet to voice their opinions. This is not always a good thing for pro athletes who often sound off first and think about the consequences later. Some are bizarre, some spiteful and some both as exemplified by the myriad of tweets by the mercurial Antonio Brown. Then there are the occasional and intriguing insights into the inner workings of an NFL franchise that find their way public.
Such a case occurred recently on Reddit, where former offensive guard Uche Nwaneri elected to start a thread to sound off on the current state of the Dallas Cowboys, who at the time of the writing, hadn’t yet officially walked away from head coach Jason Garrett.
While some won’t see Nwaneri as the expert in all things Cowboys, he has been privy to the inner workings of the team, from inside the four walls.
After playing seven seasons and 92 starts with the Jacksonville Jaguars, he signed as a free agent in the 2014 offseason. He was brought in to compete for a reserve role at left guard in training camp. His stay ended at the final cuts in late August which effectively ended his professional career in the league.
Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Posting under the verified handle The Observant Lineman, Nwaneri provided his personal and up-close perspective about Garrett and also the cultural challenges of being a player on the club.
“In my short time playing in Dallas, I learned a lot about the circus environment that is the world of the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry World as we have come to know it, is the ever present dark cloud that will keep this franchise from reaching the levels of success they attained when they WERE America’s team in the 1990s.”
While the claims of a circus-like atmosphere surrounding the Cowboys is nothing new and is mostly self-evident, Nwaneri was able to go into more detail, addressing Garrett, his staff at the time, and what the flavor was like in what was then known as Valley Ranch.
“When I first walked into the Cowboy’s facility as a free agent signing after leaving Jacksonville, I was filled with excitement, yet that would soon turn to annoyance, as I was constantly reminded of the privilege it was to play for the Dallas Cowboys. Posters, and signage plastered all around the facility pushed a message of prestige and inflated arrogance. And as a player who came from a small market team in the Jaguars, I could sense that arrogance a mile away. This was a narrative that was constantly shouted from the mountain tops while at Valley Ranch, not by the players, whom I got along with fine and had immense respect for, but from Jason Garrett and his staff. This was the moniker that no player could escape whether they liked it or not. It was as if we were in some alternate universe in which the Cowboys were defending Super Bowl champs. Except it was a falsehood.”
Now that the Cowboys have since graduated to an even-higher level of status with the glitzy Star In Frisco, complete with fan interactive tours and even grander spectacle, it is not hard to imagine the experience for a player entering the team headquarters and training facility could be any less in 2020.
“It was quite mind boggling to me that the staff, headed by Garrett, was promoting a false culture around a mystique that had long since faded in the mind of those who lived outside the cultural bubble of the silver and blue. There is no doubt that the market of the Cowboys brand is the most powerful in sports. That market is based on an image that was built on the back of champions. That image is maintained by a hype machine that works in overdrive 24/7 and usually is more to the detriment of those on the roster than a benefit.”
Despite the fact that it appears his commentary was a jab at a possibly-departing Garrett, Nwaneri went on to note that was not quite what he perceived as the root cause what he coined as a false culture.
“The Dallas Cowboys fail because they have an owner who has interjected himself in the daily operations of a professional sports franchise. True enough it is his team, but there is a certain level of trust that an owner needs to have in the abilities of his coaching staff to do the job he has paid them to do. Jerry is the final say on all personnel decisions. He is the spokesperson for the cowboys. The biggest fan of the Cowboys. And in the end, his decree is passed down as if he was the head coach of the Cowboys himself. His influence over the entire narrative for the Cowboys is undisputed, both in the media, and the locker room.”
For emphasis, the post finished specifically with addressing the pitfalls facing a locker room that is dominated by the Jones specter.
“In the end, for better AND for worse, Jerry Jones is responsible for the constant failings of the Dallas Cowboys. The locker room in Dallas buckles under the immense pressure, and hype created by long past success. Long past success and nostalgia that Jerry himself is chasing. Until he decides to let go of that past glory and undisputed control/influence over the narrative of his team, changing coaches will not amount to the success he seeks. Until he steps back and lets go of the power he has embellished himself in, nothing will change. Until he allows himself to see the Dallas Cowboys for what they truly are, they will never be what he so desperately wants them to be. The Dallas Cowboys are a mediocre football franchise. A mediocre franchise with an extraordinary amount of talent. And that is solely the fault of the very man who long ago turned the silver and blue into a way of life. Jerry Jones.”
When a former player castigates a powerful figure like Jones, it is bound to provide some important food for thought for the fanbase.
As the Cowboys now search for their next head coach, some of the points made by Nwaneri have to be considered.
Will Jones decide to step back and no longer be the driver of the culture of the franchise? The answer is more than likely no. If anything, he may elect to briefly fade into the shadows as he appeared to do the last time he hired a bigger-than-life commander in Hall of Famer Bill Parcells.
If Nwaneri’s perceptions in 2014 still translate six years later, the next head coach will likely have to be the kind of leader who has the gravitas and will power to become the culture-buster that would be right for the future. This coach would also have to find a way to function in the environment without embracing the glamour and focus on winning football games.
It sounds like a daunting task that will be an immediate challenge to whomever is designated to navigate the franchise going forward. But it is clear at least from this particular former player, that kind of change will not be possible with Garrett still at the helm functioning as Nwaneri quips later, Darth Vader to Jones’ Darth Sideous.
As things come into more clear focus over the upcoming weeks, this should be a consideration as fans make their judgments on the head coach decision.
You can chat with or follow C.C. on Twitter @boozeman811.
