Tom Cousineau

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Tom Cousineau
Date of birth	May 6, 1957
Place of birth	Fairview Park, OH
Position(s)	LB
College	Ohio State
NFL Draft	1979 / Round 1/ Pick 1
Statistics	DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1982-1985 1986-1987	Cleveland Browns San Francisco 49ers

Tom Cousineau (born May 6, 1957, in Fairview Park, Ohio) is a former American Football linebacker who played six seasons in the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns and the San Francisco 49ers from 1982 to 1987. Cousineau is best known for being the first overall pick of the 1979 NFL Draft.

Cousineau played high school football at St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio and was one of the most highly-recruited football players in the country in his senior year ^[1]. Cousineau decided to play college football in Ohio State University where he was a two time All-American and broke a school record with 211 tackles in a single season in 1978^[2]. Cousineau also broke a school record for most tackles in a game with 29, was the MVP of the Orange Bowl and the Hula Bowl and is currently second on the school's all-time tackle list with 569.

Cousineau was drafted first overall in the 1979 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills, but never played a game with the Bills after Cousineau thought that the Bills were rude to him. He instead signed with the Canadian Football League Montreal Alouettes where they offered double the money that the Bills originally offered. Cousineau became a star there, becoming the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player in the 1979 season. Cousineau wanted to return to the NFL, and in 1982 the Houston Oilers attempted to sign him, but the Bills (who still held Cousineau's NFL rights) matched the offer. He was then traded from the Bills to the Cleveland Browns for a first round draft choice (14th overall) in the 1983 NFL Draft^[3]. That pick was used on future Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly. Cousineau signed a five-year contract for 2.5 million dollars, the most ever for a Cleveland Brown player at the time^[4].

During Cousineau's five seasons with the Browns, he led the team in tackles for three seasons and was a two time All-NFL but never made the Pro Bowl in his career. Cousineau signed with the San Francisco 49ers as a free agent after the 1985 season where he played two years as a reserve before retiring in 1987.

Cousineau finished his NFL career with ten interceptions and 6.5 career sacks and currently stays at home with his two children and renovates houses.

On February 8, 2006, Cousineau announced plans to run for a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives as a Republican in the Akron, Ohio area^[5]. He won the May primary but lost the November election to Democrat Brian Williams by a margin of 58% to 42%. ^[6]