NFL Coach Dies Days After Bike Accident

The New York Jets assistant coach who was hit by a car while riding his bike in Northern California's Bay Area last Saturday has died of his injuries. Greg Knapp, 58, never regained consciousness after the San Ramon accident and died Thursday, his family said in a statement. "Greg’s infectious personality is most people’s first and lasting memory of him," it reads, in part. "While his family, friends and players still had so much to learn from him and desperately wished they had more time with him, God called an audible and wanted to go over the game plan directly with him. It will certainly be a masterpiece, just like Greg!"

Knapp lived in Danville, another Bay Area city, and was well-respected as a football coach, the AP reports. After playing quarterback for Sacramento State, he worked there for nine years, then got an NFL coaching job with the San Francisco 49ers in 1997. He went on to work for the NFL teams in Atlanta, Oakland, Seattle, Houston, Kansas City, and Denver, and was hired by the Jets in January. He was days away from flying to New Jersey to start his first season with the team. Some of the notable players he had worked with included Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young and Peyton Manning, soon to be inducted himself, ESPN reports. (The driver who hit Knapp allegedly swerved into the bike lane.)