Carlos Polk

Carlos Devonn Polk (born February 22, 1977) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League for the San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Nebraska.

Carlos Polk
Polk with the San Diego Chargers in 2007
Dallas Cowboys
Position:Assistant Special Teams Coach
Personal information
Born: (1977-02-22) February 22, 1977
Memphis, Tennessee
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:262 lb (119 kg)
Career information
High school:Guilford (IL)
College:Nebraska
NFL Draft:2001 / Round: 4 / Pick: 112
Career history
As player:
As coach:
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:74
Tackles:120
Sacks:4.0
Forced fumbles:3
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early years

Polk attended Guilford High School in Rockford, Illinois, where he was a standout linebacker for the Vikings football team. As a senior, he recorded 152 tackles, 13 quarterback sacks, 3 fumble recoveries, 3 blocked kicks and one interception.

He finished as one of the all-time leading tacklers in the state of Illinois high school history, with 453 career tackles, while also tallying 10 fumble recoveries, 7 blocked kicks, 5 interceptions and 30 tackles for loss. He received All-conference (three times), All-state, USA Today All-American and Northern Illinois Conference-9 Defensive Player of Year honors. He also practiced basketball.

College career

Polk accepted a football scholarship from the University of Nebraska. As a redshirt freshman, he was a part of a team that won the 1997 National Championship. He appeared in 12 games, posting 32 tackles (6 for loss) and one sack.

As a sophomore, he appeared all 13 games, making 22 tackles (5 for loss), one pass defensed, 2 forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception.

As a junior, he became a starter at middle linebacker, registering 83 tackles (second on the team), 12 tackles for loss (second on the team), 6.5 sacks (second on the team) and 21 quarterback hurries (led the team).

As a senior, he led the team with 90 tackles, while making 9 tackles for loss, 13 quarterback hurries (second on the team), one interception and 5 passes defensed. He finished his college career with 227 tackles (14th all-time in school history), 32 tackles for loss (9th all-time in school history) and 10 sacks.

In 2010, he was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame.[1]

Professional career

Pre-Draft
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Wonderlic
6 ft 2 in
(1.88 m)		 251 lb
(114 kg)		 4.73 s 1.10 s 2.73 s 22
All values from the 2001 NFL Combine[2]

San Diego Chargers

Polk was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the fourth round (112th overall) of the 2001 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he played 6 games on special teams, finishing with 4 tackles after being placed on the injured reserve list with a torn rotator cuff injury on November 14.[3][4]

In 2002, he was voted by teammates as the Chargers Special Teams Player of the Year…, after leading the team with 13 tackles. He also registered his first-career safety and first-career blocked kick. In 2003, he was voted as the Chargers co-Special Teams Player of Year, after tying for the team lead with 16 tackles.

In 2004, he was declared inactive in the first game with a shoulder injury, he played in the second game against the New York Jets, only to be placed on the injured reserve list with a dislocated left shoulder on September 21.[5] In 2005, he suffered an Achilles injury in the final off-season coaching session and was placed on the injured reserve list on July 28.[6]

In 2006, he filled-in for a suspended Shawne Merriman in the first 4 games of the season.[7] He went on to enjoy his best professional season, posting 32 defensive tackles, 2 sacks and 19 special teams tackles (second on the team) and received the team's Ed Block Courage Award.[8]

In 2007, he started two games at inside linebacker in place of an injured Matt Wilhelm. On November 20, he was placed on the injured reserve list with a left shoulder injury he sustained in the November 18 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, at the time he was leading the team with 11 special teams tackles.[9] At the end of the year, he shared the team's Most Inspirational Player Award with Philip Rivers. Polk was released on August 30, 2008.[10][11]

Dallas Cowboys

On October 16, 2008, Polk was signed as a free agent by the Dallas Cowboys, reuniting with head coach Wade Phillips, who was his defensive coordinator with the San Diego Chargers.[12] He was signed for depth purposes after special teams player Sam Hurd was lost for the year with a high left-ankle sprain injury and Kevin Burnett was limited with a calf injury. He finished with 10 special teams tackles (sixth on the team), one forced fumble and one blocked punt. He wasn't re-signed at the end of the season.

Personal life

In 2009, he was the special teams coach at Grossmont College. From 2010 to 2012, he was a special teams assistant for the San Diego Chargers. In 2013, he was a coaching intern for the Dallas Cowboys.[13]

In 2014, he joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an assistant special teams coach. In 2019, Polk joined the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff as an assistant special teams coach.[14] In January 2020, he was let go with the arrival of new Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.

References
  1. "Polk, Alexander Headline Hall of Fame Class". Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  2. "Carlos Polk NFL Combine". NFLdraftscout.com.
  3. "Chargers by position: Linebacker". Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  4. "Dwight proves tough to replace". Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  5. "Coach regrets not challenging T.O. TD". Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  6. "Williams Rejoins NFL's Substance-Abuse Program". Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  7. "Suspended Merriman says he's not a steroid cheat". Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  8. "From Nebraska to the NFL: Carlos Polk". Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  9. "Goodell says no deal ahead for network". Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  10. "Chargers Release Guilford Grad". Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  11. "Chargers cut list". Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  12. "Hurd (ankle) placed on IR; Cowboys sign Polk". Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  13. "Cowboys, Chris Boniol part ways". Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  14. "Cowboys hire Carlos Polk as assistant special teams coach". Retrieved June 12, 2020.
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