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 age 87.
Peete was on the coaching staff 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 served as a college assistant coach for many years.
Peete played fullback at Arizona in the 1950s and was hired as a graduate assistant for the Wildcats in 1960. This began a decades-long coaching career at both the high and professional levels.
Peete’s older son Skip Peete is currently the Buccaneers running backs coach and has been an NFL assistant since 1998. His younger son, Rodney Peete, finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting 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 winningest black golfer on the PGA Tour ahead of Tiger Woods.