Ted Cottrell

No. 51

Position:

Linebacker

Personal information

Date of birth:

June 13, 1947

Place of birth:

Chester, Pennsylvania

Height:

6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)

Weight:

233 lb (106 kg)

Career information

College:

Delaware Valley

NFL Draft:

1969 / Round: 7 / Pick: 164

Career history

As player:

Atlanta Falcons (1969–1970)
Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1971)

As coach:

Rutgers (1973–1979)
(Defensive line coach)
Rutgers (1980)
(Defensive coordinator)
Kansas City Chiefs (1981–1982)
(Linebackers coach)
Rutgers (1983)
(Defensive coordinator)
New Jersey Generals (1984–1985)
(Defensive line coach)
Buffalo Bills (1986–1989)
(Defensive line coach)
Phoenix Cardinals (1990–1993)
(Defensive line coach)
Arizona Cardinals (1994)
(Linebackers coach)
Buffalo Bills (1995–1997)
(Linebackers coach)
Buffalo Bills (1998–2000)
(Defensive coordinator)
New York Jets (2001–2003)
(Defensive coordinator)
Minnesota Vikings (2004–2005)
(Defensive coordinator)
San Diego Chargers (2007–2008)
(Defensive coordinator)
New York Sentinels (2009)
(Head coach)

Career NFL statistics

Player stats at NFL.com

Head coaching record

Career:

0–6 (UFL)

Theodore John "Ted" Cottrell (born June 13, 1947) is the former head coach for the New York Sentinels of the United Football League. He was formerly the defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings and, most recently, the San Diego Chargers in the National Football League (NFL).

Playing career

Cottrell starred at Delaware Valley College from 1965 to 1968. He was a seventh-round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons in the 1969 NFL Draft and played linebacker for two seasons. He ended his career with the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers, where he played for one more year.

Coaching career

Cottrell began his coaching career at Rutgers University, where he worked as an assistant for eight years. In 1981, he got his first NFL coach job when Marv Levy hired him as linebackers coach for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Considered an innovator in the 3–4 defense, Cottrell was an assistant coach for the Buffalo Bills from 1995 to 2000, the last three seasons as defensive coordinator. From 1998 through 2000, the Bills finished no worse than sixth in the league in total defense. In 1999, the Bills led the league in total defense.

In 2001, he joined the New York Jets as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator, and operated the 4–3 scheme favored by head coach Herman Edwards. He stayed for three seasons.

In 2003, Cottrell was a finalist to become the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.^[1] He ultimately lost the job to Dennis Erickson.

Cottrell then spent two seasons (2004–2005) as defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings. In 2005, the Vikings finished fifth in the NFL in takeaways and earned a postseason berth, and defeated the Green Bay Packers in a Wild Card contest. Cotrell was let go, along with Head Coach Mike Tice and the rest of his staff. Cottrell then announced his retirement.

In February 2007, he became the defensive coordinator under new Chargers head coach, Norv Turner. During the regular season, the Chargers led the NFL in takeaways (48), interceptions (30), and passing rating defense (70.0), the first time a Chargers team ever led in any of these categories. In 2008, many fans wanted Cottrell to be terminated. At the midpoint of the season, the team had a record of 3–5 despite having a highly effective offense. Many attributed this poor record to the fact that the Chargers ranked last among NFL teams in defending against the pass. Defenses led by Cottrell had similar problems in New York and Minnesota. At the midpoint of the 2008 season, the San Diego defense, generally considered to have fantastic talent, had gone two entire games without a quarterback sack nor a takeaway.

On October 28, 2008, Cottrell was fired from his position as San Diego's defensive coordinator.^[2]

Cottrell was the head coach for the UFL's New York Sentinels in 2009.^[3] After one winless season, Cottrell left the organization.

Personal life

Cottrell's son, T. J. Cottrell, played professionally for the Vikings, Chargers and Sentinels, in each case under his father as coach.

Head coaching record

Team	Year	Regular Season					Post Season
Team	Year	Won	Lost	Ties	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
NYS	2009	0	6	0	.000	4th in UFL	-	-	-	-
Total		0	6	0	.000		-	-	-	-

References

Sporting positions
Preceded by Wade Phillips	Buffalo Bills Defensive Coordinator 1998–2000	Succeeded by Jerry Gray
Preceded by Mike Nolan	New York Jets Defensive Coordinator 2001–2003	Succeeded by Donnie Henderson
Preceded by George O'Leary	Minnesota Vikings Defensive Coordinator 2004–2005	Succeeded by Mike Tomlin
Preceded by Wade Phillips	San Diego Chargers Defensive Coordinator 2007–October 28, 2008	Succeeded by Ron Rivera
Preceded by none	New York Sentinels Head Coach 2009	Succeeded by Chris Palmer (Hartford Colonials)

Atlanta Falcons 1969 NFL draft selections

George Kunz Paul Gipson Mal Snider Jon Sandstrom Jim Mitchell Dicky Lyons Tony Pleviak WaIly Oyler Dick Enderle Ted Cottrell Jim Callahan Jeff Stanciel Jeff Van Note Denver Samples Harry Carpenter Billy Hunt Jim Weatherford Ed Hughes Paul Williams

Hartford Colonials

Formerly the New York Sentinels Founded in 2009 Operations Inactive as of 2011 Based in Hartford, Connecticut

The Franchise	Franchise

Stadiums	Giants Stadium James M. Shuart Stadium Rentschler Field

Head Coaches	Cottrell Palmer Glanville

Key Personnel	Owner: Bill Mayer Head Coach/General Manager: Jerry Glanville

Seasons (2)	2009 2010

Current League Affiliation	United Football League

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