He was a mainstay in a line that included Hall of Famers Jim Langer, Larry Little, and Dwight Stephenson and played in six Pro Bowls in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

[3] Kuechenberg's older brother Rudy also attended Hobart High, would also become an NFL player, and they would be inducted together on June 23, 1996 into the Indiana Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

[4][5] Kuechenberg attended college at the University of Notre Dame, where he studied economics, earning a Bachelor's degree in 1969.

[3] He quit shortly after training camp started and played a season with the Chicago Owls in the Continental Football League.

[3] He became a starter that season, starting 5 out of 14 games played,[7] as the Dolphins finished 10–4 and made the playoffs for the first time in club history.

During the next regular season, 1971, Kuechenberg helped the Dolphins make it to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Dallas Cowboys 24–3.

[8][9] The next two seasons the Dolphins won the Super Bowl (going 17–0 in 1972)[8] and his play was noticed by New York Post writer Paul Zimmerman, who named Kuechenberg on his All-pro ballot.

One such critique prompted then-current Miami All-Pro, Jason Taylor, to comment, "It's another chapter in the grumpy Kuechenberg story.

[11] In 2013, President Barack Obama honored the entire 1972 Perfect Season Dolphins at an event in the White House, but Kuechenberg declined to attend for political reasons.

[3] Legendary New York Times sportswriter Red Smith quoted Kuechenberg in 1975, on his sacrifice and strategy for success against opposing defensive tackles: "'I just fight him .... As long as he's beating on my head and not the quarterback's it's all right with me.

'"[3] He was one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated hits to the head.

She stated that her father declined rapidly in the years leading to his death, his memory beginning to fail, rarely leaving home, making poor financial decisions, drinking heavily, suffering from depression and contemplating suicide.