Danny Noonan (American football)
No. 73, 95 | |||||||
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Position: | Defensive end | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S. | July 14, 1965||||||
Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 288 lb (131 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Lincoln Northeast (lincoln) | ||||||
College: | Nebraska | ||||||
NFL draft: | 1987 / Round: 1 / Pick: 12 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Daniel Nicholas Noonan (born July 14, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Early years
Noonan was born six miles from the
College career
He accepted a football scholarship from the
As a junior, defensive coordinator Charlie McBride moved him to
Noonan had a dominant season as a senior, registering 53 tackles and 12 sacks (led the team), on a team that ranked second in the nation in total defense, allowing 235.5 yards per game and only 2.4 yards per run.[1] He received numerous awards and honors, including the Big 8 Athlete-of-the-Year, First-team All-American (AP, UPI, FWAA, Kodak, Walter Camp, Football News), All Star Japan Bowl and Big 8 Player-of-the-Week (Florida State).[2]
In 1991, he was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame. In 2005, he was selected by the Omaha World-Herald as one of Nebraska's Top 100 greatest athletes.[3]
Professional career
Dallas Cowboys
Noonan was selected by the
By his second season he was considered the Cowboys' strongest player, being able to bench press 505 pounds. Despite suffering hip, knee and heel injuries, his best year statistically was in 1988, when he replaced White as the starter at right tackle, recording 16 starts, 84 tackles, 7.5 sacks (tied for the team lead with Garry Cobb) and returned one interception for a touchdown. Against the Atlanta Falcons, he intercepted a pass tipped at the line of scrimmage and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown and sacked quarterback Chris Miller for a safety. In the eighth game against the Philadelphia Eagles, he had 9 tackles and 3 sacks.
In 1989, he missed 9 games with a groin injury he suffered in training camp, posting only 5 starts in 7 games, 23 tackles, 9 quarterback pressures, one sack and one pass defensed.
In 1990, he regained his starting role (15 starts), finishing fourth (first among defensive lineman) on the team in tackles (85), while also making 4.5 sacks, 16 quarterback pressures and 4 passes defensed.
After starting the first 3 games at right tackle in 1991, with the addition of Tony Casillas, plus the emergence of Russell Maryland and Jimmie Jones, he was moved to a backup role and played sparingly the rest of the season, making 20 tackles (2 for loss), one quarterback pressure, one pass defensed and one sack.[7]
He was released after starting the first 2 games of the 1992 season on September 14, to make room for Russell Maryland upon his return from a toe injury.[8] He started 41 out of 67 possible games and recorded 15 sacks in his Cowboys career.
Green Bay Packers
On September 16,
Denver Broncos
On April 6, 1993, he signed as a free agent with the Denver Broncos. He retired on August 17, after missing almost half of the team's training camp with a knee injury.[11]
Personal life
Noonan married his wife Julie in 2002 and have six children (Sydney, Sam, Maverick, Alec, Branson and Marisa) and one grandchild Levi .
References
- ^ "No. 6 Huskers May Have Best 'Middle Man' Around". Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ^ "Kelly, Noonan chosen top Big Eight athletes". Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ^ "The Nebraska 100". Omaha World-Herald. January 14, 2005.
- ^ "1987 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
- ^ "Cowboys Opt to Fortify Defense". Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ^ "Noonan ends holdout". Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ^ "Noonan wants fresh start". Archived from the original on May 16, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ^ "Cowboys release Noonan". Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ^ "Packers gets rights to lineman Noonan". Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ^ "Transactions". Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ^ "Noonan retires". Retrieved February 19, 2023.
External links