| No. 22 | |
| Safety | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: February 16, 1962 | |
| Place of birth: Alexandria, Virginia | |
| High School: Woodbridge High School Woodbridge, Virginia |
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| Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | Weight: 199 lb (90 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College: University of Florida | |
| NFL Draft: 1984 / Round: 3 / Pick: 78 | |
| Debuted in 1984 for the Denver Broncos | |
| Last played in 1987 for the Denver Broncos | |
| Career history | |
| As player: |
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As coach:
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Interceptions | 9 |
| Fumbles recovered | 3 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Stats at DatabaseFootball.com | |
Robert Anthony "Tony" Lilly (born February 16, 1962) is a former American college and professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons during the 1980s. Lilly played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Denver Broncos of the NFL.
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Lilly was born in Alexandria, Virginia in 1962.[1] When he was 9 years old he represented the Washington, D.C. area in the NFL's Punt, Pass, and Kick competition.[2] In 1979, Lilly was one of five players from Northern Virginia named to United Press International's Virginia All-State football team.[3] He attended Woodbridge High School in Woodbridge, Virginia,[4] and he was a standout player for the Woodbridge Vikings high school football team. On October 2, 2004, Woodbridge High School retired the numbers of three former football players, including Lilly's number 18.[5][6]
Lilly received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Charley Pell's Florida Gators football team from 1980 to 1983.[7] He became a starter as a freshman when Tim Groves was injured late in the 1980 season, and remained a regular member of the Gators' starting lineup for his remaining three seasons.[8] As a senior in 1983, Lilly was honored as a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection and a second-team All-American.[7]
The Denver Broncos drafted Lilly in the third round (seventy-eighth pick overall) in the 1984 NFL Draft,[9] and he played for the Broncos for four seasons from 1984 to 1988.[10] Lilly started at safety for the Broncos in Super Bowl XXII. In his four-year NFL career, he played in fifty-eight game, started fifteen of them, and totaled nine interceptions and three fumble recoveries.[1]
Lilly was a special education instructor and the head football coach at Potomac Senior High School located in Dumfries, Virginia from 2005 to 2009. In 2006, Lilly coached the Panthers to an 11–2 record in his second season and capturing the Cardinal District and Northwest Regional championships in the state of Virginia. The only two losses that season were to eventual Virginia Division 6 state champion Osbourn High School and Division 5 champion Phoebus High School.
In 2007, Lilly guided the Panthers to a perfect 10–0 regular season on the way to the Virginia Division 5 state championship game held at the University of Virginia's Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, before losing to Stone Bridge High School in the final.[11] His 2007 Potomac Panthers finished the season 13–1 overall.[11]
On May 4, 2010, Lilly was named the head football coach of C.D. Hylton High School in Woodbridge, Virginia, where he also serves as a special education teacher. In his first season as head coach, he directed the team to a 10-0 regular season, before losing in their first playoff game against Battlefield, the eventual Division 6 champion who they had defeated earlier in the season.
Lilly and his wife Lisa have one son, Ryan.