Bryan Cox
{{Short description|American football player and coach (born 1968)}}
{{other people|Brian Cox}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Bryan Cox
| image = Bryan Cox Iraq 3.jpg
| alt = Candid waist-up photograph of Cox wearing a grey t-shirt and apparently signing an autograph
| caption = Cox in Iraq, 2006
| number =
| current_team = New York Giants
| position = Assistant defensive line coach
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1968|2|17|mf=y}}
| birth_place = East St. Louis, Illinois, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 4
| weight_lb = 250
| high_school = East St. Louis
| college = Western Illinois (1987–1990)
| draftyear = 1991
| draftround = 5
| draftpick = 113
| pastteams = * Miami Dolphins ({{NFL Year|1991|1995}})
- Chicago Bears ({{NFL Year|1996|1997}})
- New York Jets ({{NFL Year|1998|2000}})
- New England Patriots ({{NFL Year|2001}})
- New Orleans Saints ({{NFL Year|2002}})
| pastcoaching = * New York Jets ({{NFL Year|2006|2008}})
Assistant defensive line coach
- Cleveland Browns ({{NFL Year|2009|2010}})
Defensive line coach - Miami Dolphins ({{NFL Year|2011}})
Pass rush coach - Tampa Bay Buccaneers ({{NFL Year|2012|2013}})
Defensive line coach - Atlanta Falcons ({{NFL Year|2014|2016}})
Defensive line coach - New York Giants ({{NFL Year|2022}}–present)
Assistant defensive line coach
| highlights = ; As a player
| statlabel1 = Total tackles
| statvalue1 = 939
| statlabel2 = Sacks
| statvalue2 = 51.5
| statlabel3 = Forced fumbles
| statvalue3 = 22
| statlabel4 = Fumble recoveries
| statvalue4 = 15
| statlabel5 = Pass deflections
| statvalue5 = 10
| statlabel6 = Interceptions
| statvalue6 = 4
| statlabel7 = Interception yards
| statvalue7 = 65
| statlabel8 = Defensive touchdowns
| statvalue8 = 2
| pfr = CoxxBr00
}}
Bryan Keith Cox Sr. (born February 17, 1968) is an American professional football coach and former player who currently serves as the assistant defensive line coach for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played as a linebacker in the NFL. He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection with the Miami Dolphins, and was a member of the New England Patriots team that won Super Bowl XXXVI.
Cox played college football for the Western Illinois Leathernecks, an FCS program that has developed other NFL talent, and received attention for his aggressive style of play. Although Cox was a relatively late fifth-round pick by the Dolphins in the 1991 NFL draft, he rose to prominence as a standout linebacker during his twelve NFL seasons from 1991 through 2002.
Early life and college
Cox was a member of the East St. Louis High School Flyers high school football team, where he was coached by Bob Shannon.
Cox attended Western Illinois University and was a mass communications major and a letterman in football. In football, he was a four-year letterman and a two-year starter. As a senior, he was named as a first-team All-America selection by the Football Gazette and was a first-team all-conference selection. As a junior, he was named the Western Illinois Most Valuable Player. As a sophomore, Cox played in every game, and finished his sophomore season with 54 tackles, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, two interceptions and three blocked kicks. As a freshman, Cox was a reserve nickel-back and finished the season with 30 tackles.
Professional playing career
Cox was selected by the Dolphins in the fifth round of the 1991 NFL draft, chosen 113th overall.{{Cite web |title=1991 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1991/draft.htm |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} As a rookie, Cox started 13 games as the Dolphins right outside linebacker, racking up a total of 61 tackles along with two sacks. Miami finished out the season 8-8. In his sophomore campaign, Cox blossomed and helped lead the Dolphins to an 11–5 record and the AFC Championship Game. He made his first Pro Bowl and was named to the All Pro team after recording 127 tackles, 14 sacks and five forced fumbles.[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/CoxxBr00.htm Bryan Cox NFL Football Statistics|Pro Football-Reference.com] Miami switched to a 4-3 defense in 1993 and Cox was moved to right linebacker. The team started out 9–2, but lost their last five to miss the playoffs. Cox again led the team with 122 tackles, four forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. He also collected five sacks and an interception.
Cox earned his second Pro Bowl selection in 1994, starting 16 games at middle linebacker, leading the team with 100 tackles.[http://www.thephinsider.com/2012/3/31/2907921/miami-dolphins-all-time-top-100-players-48-bryan-cox Miami Dolphis All-Time Top 100 Players: 48. Bryan Cox- The Phinsider] Miami finished the season 10–6, winning the Wild Card Game against the Kansas City Chiefs, 27–17 before losing the Divisional Playoff to the San Diego Chargers, 22–21. In 1995, Cox was selected to his second consecutive Pro Bowl, and third overall. He again started every game at middle linebacker, finishing the year with a team high 119 tackles, 7.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. The Dolphins went 9–7 before bowing out in the Wild Card Game to the Buffalo Bills, 37–22. The defense tied for the AFC lead by allowing only seven rushing touchdowns. Overall, Cox spent five years with the Dolphins playing both outside and middle linebacker, starting 75 out of a possible 78 games. While with Miami, Cox made his distaste towards division rival Buffalo widely known, giving the finger towards fans in 1993 and getting into a fist-fight with Bills fullback Carwell Gardner in 1995. Both Gardner and Cox were ejected for the altercation. On his way back to the locker room, Cox repeatedly spit into the air, intended as gesture to the heckling Buffalo fans.{{Cite web |url=https://buffalonews.com/2019/10/23/dolphins-player-bryan-cox-and-how-he-spewed-his-hatred-for-buffalo-in-1993/ |title=Dolphins player Bryan Cox and how he spewed his hatred for Buffalo in 1993 |last=Cichon |first=Steve |date=2019-10-23 |website=The Buffalo News |language=en-us |access-date=2020-04-12}}
Cox would go on to play seven more seasons in the NFL for the Chicago Bears, New York Jets, New England Patriots, and New Orleans Saints. In a career encompassing 165 games, Cox recorded 764 tackles, tallied 51.5 quarterback sacks, caught four interceptions and forced 22 fumbles. Among his most famous plays was a 27-yard interception-return touchdown against the Patriots in September 1999 while playing with the Jets; another famous play came with the Patriots in September 2001 in a game against the Indianapolis Colts; Cox hit receiver Jerome Pathon in the first quarter, a hit that briefly knocked Pathon out.
Throughout his NFL career, Cox was easily recognizable on the field due to the unusual headrest- or "surfboard"-style neck roll he wore and colored to match his uniform jersey.[https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/sports/football/nfl-once-big-neck-rolls-now-nostalgia-piece.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 PRO FOOTBALL: NFL; Glory Has Faded for the Neck Roll; Memories Have Not - New York Times]
NFL career statistics
| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="2"| Legend |
| style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"|
| Super Bowl champion |
| Bold
| Career high |
=Regular season=
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;" | ||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team ! colspan="2"| Games ! colspan="4"| Tackles ! colspan="3"| Interceptions ! colspan="2"| Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Int | Yds | TD | FF | FR |
| 1991 | MIA
| 13 || 13 || 61 || – || – || 2.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||
| 1992 | MIA
| 16 || 16 || 127 || – || – || 14.0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 1 | |||||||||
| 1993 | MIA
| 16 || 16 || 122 || – || – || 4.0 || 1 || 26 || 0 || 4 || 4 | |||||||||
| 1994 | MIA
| 16 || 16 || 100 || 75 || 25 || 3.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 | |||||||||
| 1995 | MIA
| 16 || 16 || 119 || 95 || 24 || 7.5 || 1 || 12 || 0 || 3 || 1 | |||||||||
| 1996 | CHI
| 9 || 9 || 59 || 45 || 14 || 3.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 3 | |||||||||
| 1997 | CHI
| 16 || 15 || 101 || 68 || 33 || 5.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 | |||||||||
| 1998 | NYJ
| 16 || 10 || 70 || 48 || 22 || 6.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 | |||||||||
| 1999 | NYJ
| 12 || 11 || 46 || 32 || 14 || 0.0 || 1 || 27 || 1 || 2 || 1 | |||||||||
| 2000 | NYJ
| 15 || 14 || 81 || 55 || 26 || 6.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 3 || 3 | |||||||||
| 2001 | style="background:#afe6ba;"|NE
| 11 || 7 || 49 || 34 || 15 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 | |||||||||
| 2002 | NO
| 9 || 1 || 4 || 3 || 1 || 0.0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 | |||||||||
| colspan="2"| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/CoxxBr00.htm Career] || 165 || 144 || 939 || 455 || 174 || 51.5 || 4 || 65 || 1 || 22 || 15 |
Post-playing career
From 2004 to 2005 he worked as an analyst for TVG Network. Cox also co-hosted an afternoon drive radio program for Fox Sports Radio in 2006 alongside Chris Myers. Cox was a football analyst on FS1 in 2018.
=Coaching career=
He was an assistant defensive line coach for the New York Jets for three seasons (2006–2008) under Eric Mangini. After Mangini was fired and became the coach of the Cleveland Browns in January 2009, he brought Cox with him, where Cox was the defensive line coach.
On February 21, 2011, Cox was hired by the Miami Dolphins as their pass rush coach.{{Cite web |last=Lesko |first=Mark |title=Miami Dolphins: Bryan Cox Hired As Pass Rush Coach |url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/616065-miami-dolphins-bryan-cox-hired-as-pass-rush-coach |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=Bleacher Report |language=en}}
On February 17, 2012, Cox was hired to become a defensive assistant at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was hired the same day as Bill Sheridan.
On January 11, 2014, Cox was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as their defensive line coach.In the 2016 season, Cox and the Falcons reached Super Bowl LI on February 5, 2017. Against the New England Patriots, the Falcons would fall in a 34–28 overtime defeat.{{Cite web |title=Brian Daboll adds 'wild guy' Bryan Cox to staff as defensive assistant |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/ny-bryan-cox-wild-guy-20220216-k5r5frcmxzewfgi6c2yywzgbwa-story.html |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=New York Daily News|date=16 February 2022 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201702050atl.htm|title=Super Bowl LI - New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons - February 5th, 2017|work=Pro-Football-Reference.com|access-date=6 August 2017}} On February 8, 2017, the Atlanta Falcons relieved Cox of his duties as the defensive line coach.{{Cite web |title=Falcons will replace defensive coordinator Richard Smith following Super Bowl collapse, per report |url=https://www.sbnation.com/2017/2/8/14544968/falcons-defensive-coordinator-richard-smith-bryan-cox |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=www.sbnation.com |date=8 February 2017 |language=en}}
On February 16, 2022, Cox joined the New York Giants as a defensive line assistant.{{cite web|title=Brian Daboll adds Bryan Cox, Kevin Wilkins to staff |url=https://www.giants.com/news/brian-daboll-adds-bryan-cox-kevin-wilkins-coaching-staff|author=Eisen, Michael|website=Giants.com|date=February 16, 2022}}
Personal life
Cox was born in East Saint Louis, Illinois to Ronald Cox and Nancy Mathis. He has five siblings, Christopher, Pamela, Anthony, Tonya and Junius Cox.
He is married to Kim Brown and has five children Bryan Cox Jr., Brittani Cox, Lavonda Cox, Chiquita Cox, and Kelli Cox.
Bryan's son, Bryan Cox Jr., played football as a defensive lineman for the Florida Gators and was a member of the Carolina Panthers practice squad, but got promoted to the active roster in late September 2017. He signed with the Cleveland Browns on November 13, 2019. On April 29, 2020, he signed with the Buffalo Bills, who were ironically his father's most-hated rival.,{{Cite web |title=Bills' Bryan Cox Jr.'s dad was Bills Mafia enemy No. 1 in 90s - Here's why |url=https://www.syracuse.com/buffalo-bills/2020/04/bills-bryan-cox-jrs-dad-was-bills-mafia-enemy-no-1-in-90s-heres-why.html |date=2020-04-29 |website=Syracuse.com |language=en |access-date=2020-05-07}} and in February 2025, signed with the nearby CFL Toronto Argonauts, after two seasons with Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Notes and references
{{Commons category|Bryan Cox}}
{{reflist}}
{{Dolphins1991DraftPicks}}
{{Super Bowl XXXVI}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Bryan}}
Category:American Conference Pro Bowl players
Category:American football linebackers
Category:Atlanta Falcons coaches
Category:Chicago Bears players
Category:Cleveland Browns coaches
Category:Miami Dolphins coaches
Category:Miami Dolphins players
Category:New England Patriots players
Category:New Orleans Saints players
Category:New York Jets coaches
Category:New York Jets players
Category:Players of American football from East St. Louis, Illinois
Category:Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches
Category:Western Illinois Leathernecks football players