Chuck Cecil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chuck Cecil | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Date of birth: | November 8, 1964 |
| Place of birth: | Red Bluff, California, United States |
| Career information | |
| Position(s): | Safety |
| College: | Arizona |
| NFL Draft: | 1988 / Round: 4 / Pick 89 |
| Organizations | |
| As player: | |
| 1988-1992 1993 1995 |
Green Bay Packers Phoenix Cardinals Houston Oilers |
| Career highlights and Awards | |
| Pro Bowls: | 1 |
| Stats at DatabaseFootball.com | |
Charles Douglas Cecil (born November 8, 1964), is a former safety for the National Football League's Green Bay Packers (1988-1992), Arizona Cardinals (1993), and the Houston Oilers (1995). Cecil was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1992.
Cecil, a native of Red Bluff, California, graduated from Helix High School. After graduation, he attended the University of Arizona. Cecil was initially a walk-on for the Arizona Wildcats football team, and eventually earned consensus All-America and Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year honors after his nine-interception senior season. When Cecil left Arizona, he left as the Pac-10 career interception record holder with 21 (safety Lamont Thompson later broke the mark with 24), and set a Wildcats' school record with four interceptions against Stanford in 1987. Later that year in a game against the rival Arizona State University Sun Devils, he returned an interception 106 yards to notch a Wildcats victory. He was inducted into the Wildcats' Sports Hall of Fame in 1993. He also spent two seasons (1999-2000) as a television analyst for the University of Arizona football games.
Cecil was selected by the Packers in the fourth round (89th overall) of the 1988 NFL draft. Cecil was known for his thunderous tackling and aggressive style during his time as a safety for the Packers (1988-92), Cardinals (1993) and Oilers (1995), and earned a trip to the Pro Bowl and garnered All-Madden status in 1992 when he recorded four interceptions and 102 tackles on the season. In 95 career games he totaled 400 tackles and 16 interceptions.
Cecil is regarded as among the most vicious hitters in National Football League history. Chuck Cecil was featured on the October 10, 1993 issue of Sports Illustrated with the question: "Is Chuck Cecil Too Vicious for the NFL?" Many photos taken of Cecil during games showed him with a bloodied nose.
During much of his career, Cecil was forced to wear a "Gazoo Helmet"; a helmet so named because it resembled the head of The Great Gazoo, a recurring character in The Flintstones animated series. The "Gazoo helmet" is actually a thick padding that fits on a helmet's shell to reduce the risk of receiving a concussion and reducing the risk of injury to opponents due to helmet-first hits, for which Chuck Cecil was fined numerous times. Despite the additional protection, recurring concussions forced Chuck Cecil into retirement.
After his playing career ended, he became a coach for the Tennessee Titans (the former Houston Oilers). Cecil originally joined the Titans coaching staff as defensive assistant coach in 2001 and was promoted in 2004, to work with the safeties and nickel backs. His current responsibilities are the defensive backs.
He is married to author Carrie Cecil. Together, they have a daughter, Charli, and reside in Nashville, TN.
Cecil is also an avid golfer and has played a number of events on the Celebrity Golf Tour.
[edit] External links
- Chuck Cecil's page on the Tennessee Titans' website
- Article about Chuck Cecil and NFL safeties
- Article about Chuck Cecil and NFL safeties
| Preceded by Lisa L. Ice Jon L. Louis Cheryl Miller John C. Moffet Dub W. Myers Megan L. Neyer |
Todays Top VI Award Class of 1988 Regina K. Cavanaugh Charles D. Cecil Keith J. Jackson Gordon C. Lockbaum Mary T. Meagher David Robinson |
Succeeded by Dylann Duncan Suzanne T. McConnell Betsy Mitchell Anthony P. Phillips Thomas K. Schlesinger Mark M. Stepnoski |
