Joe Danneman and Jennifer Baker

Fox19

Former Cincinnati Bengals coach Sam Wyche is out of heart transplant surgery and "doing great," according to his latest Facebook page update.

"Coach is out of the Operating Room and now in recovery!!! The surgeon said Sam did great! The total operating time was about 4.5 hours. Now he is a strong man, spiritually and physically with a strong heart, thanks to a wonderful donor and donor's family. #DonateLife

Wyche went to the operating room for heart transplant surgery just before 3 a.m. Tuesday.

He has been at a Charlotte, North Carolina, hospital since Thursday waiting for a heart transplant.

"Now, I am thrilled to tell all of you he is now at 2:50 am on his way to the OR for his new heart," his Facebook page stated at 2:50 a.m.

"He does not know who the donor is nor any of the circumstances surrounding his donor. Sam is eternally grateful as all of you can imagine.

"The day that began with not the best news has come to a close with the best possible news for Sam. Please pray for the donor, the donor's family and the incredible medical team who have been and are taking care of him and doing this heart transplant in the wee hours of Tuesday."

In a phone interview Monday, Wyche told FOX19 NOW Sports Anchor Joe Danneman he was waiting and hoped to wake up Tuesday with a new heart.

"Since you're in Cincinnati I'll tell you that the Moeller football team, My son is one of the assistant coaches. The whole football team after practice all got together and prayed for me and the prayer took place just minutes before the doctor walked in and said 'we have a match, or we think we have a match,'" Wyche said.

"I've had a lot of people praying for me and a lot of people pulling for me to have a heart in time. We were running out of time, tick tock was going."

Wyche needed a new donor heart within a week, according to his Facebook page.

He served as the head coach for the Bengals from 1984 to 1991, leading the team to Super Bowl XXIII in 1989.

Read the entire Facebook posting.