Ex-Hurricanes and Dolphins QB Kosar reveals Parkinson’s diagnosis, other health issues

Bernie Kosar, the cerebral quarterback who led the Miami Hurricanes to their first national championship and later backed up Dan Marino for three seasons with the Dolphins, disclosed this week that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and cirrhosis of the liver.

Kosar, in a Cleveland Magazine story, said he is in the early stages of his battle with Parkinson’s, a chronic brain condition that affects the nervous system. Symptoms usually start gradually and worsen over time, and there is no known cure.

Kosar’s liver problems are more advanced, though there has been some improvement recently.

He was placed on the liver transplant list in late spring, and Dr. Michael Roizen, one of his physicians and Chief Wellness Officer of Cleveland Clinic, told Cleveland Magazine that there is more than a 90 percent chance that Kosar will need a new liver.

He was diagnosed with cirrhosis — the third of four stages of liver failure — 16 months ago, according to the magazine.

Kosar, 60, said he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s by an independent NFL doctor in mid-February.

He told the magazine that when he attended a Jets-Browns Thursday night game on Dec. 28, “my body gave out on me. I really felt like I wasn’t going to make it home from the Jets game. I sucked it up, though, and continued to avoid the doctors until the new year. Then I went into the hospital and got a massive blood transfusion. It was like: ‘How are you alive? How are you moving? Because your hemoglobin levels are so low.’’’

Kosar told the magazine: “I wish you could have seen me three months ago. Actually, maybe not, because I looked like death. I felt like death. E. Coli blood poisoning. Heart trouble. And I really thought I needed the liver transplant ASAP. I was in bad shape.’’

His liver function has improved somewhat since; Kosar credits “an incredibly specific regimen of juicing, black coffee and smart supplementation.”

Kosar will forever hold a place in South Florida lore as the quarterback of the Canes’ 1983 national championship team that beat heavily favored Nebraska 31-30 in the Orange Bowl. Kosar was named the game’s MVP, capping a magical redshirt freshman season in which he started all 12 games and completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 2,328 yards and 15 touchdowns.

In two seasons with the Hurricanes, he threw for 5,971 yards, with 40 touchdowns and 29 interceptions. In his final regular-season game for Miami, Kosar threw for 447 yards and two touchdowns in the Hurricanes’ 47–45 loss to Boston College, when Doug Flutie’s Hail Mary into the end zone was caught for the winning touchdown as the game ended. In his final game for Miami weeks later, Kosar threw for 294 yards in a 39-37 Fiesta Bowl loss to UCLA.

Kosar graduated from UM’s School of Business with a double major in finance and economics and announced in March of 1985 that he was forgoing his final two years of college eligibility to turn pro. A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Kosar also announced he wanted to play for the Browns.

After Kosar met the NFL’s academic requirements that allowed him to turn pro after only two college seasons, the Browns traded two first-round picks and third- and sixth-round picks to the Bills in exchange for the first pick of the supplemental draft, which they used on Kosar.

Kosar played 8 ½ seasons for Cleveland, throwing 116 touchdowns and 81 interceptions, but lost his three AFC Championship Game appearances, all against Denver. The Browns released him after 10 games in 1993, and he finished the season with the Dallas Cowboys, who had lost Troy Aikman to a season-ending injury.

After that 1993 season, he signed with the Dolphins and spent his final three seasons as Marino’s backup, appearing in 14 games and starting two (both losses) and throwing for 987 yards with five touchdowns and six interceptions.

In addition to the Parkinson’s diagnosis and the liver problems, Kosar also has battled lingering effects from several concussions sustained as a player. Kosar’s symptoms have included insomnia, slurred speech and a ringing in his head.

“I strongly believe in the power of positive thinking,’’ he told Cleveland Magazine. “For me, it’s not just a slogan. I believe that positive energy can be manifested in our brains, and I love to live in the space of positivity. I want to think about things that are helpful. It sounds like I’m getting on a soap box here, but I visualize good health. It’s not so much that I’m trying to sell it to myself, or that I’m in denial, as it is choosing to be positive. Because everybody’s got something. We’ve all got health issues to some degree.”