Senior Bowl

Otto Graham coached in the 1967 game.

Jon Gruden has coached in four games.

Two teams, representing the North and the South, are coached by select coaching staff from two NFL teams. In recent years, the coaching staffs have come from teams who finished near the bottom of the league standings, but whose coaches were not subsequently terminated. Organizers stipulate a number of specific rules for the game, some of which are intended to reduce the chance of injury (e.g. "All blocks below the waist are prohibited"), and others that simplify what the teams need to practice and prepare for (e.g. "Only four rushers allowed, no 5-man pressures or blitzes from secondary permitted").[3]

The week-long practice that precedes the game is attended by key NFL personnel (including coaches, general managers and scouts), who oversee the players as possible prospects for pro football. At one point the Senior Bowl was the first chance its participants had to openly receive pay for participation in an athletic event. This was one reason that participation was limited to seniors whose eligibility for further participation in collegiate football had expired, and the game was also their first exposure to the slightly different professional rules. Players who wished to participate in collegiate spring sports had to avoid participation in the Senior Bowl. The significance of all of this has waned in recent years as there has been some lessening of the former strict separation of professional and amateur athletes. Athletes sometimes decline invitations to participate in the Senior Bowl, opting instead to prepare for the NFL scouting combine or their colleges' pro day.[4] In 2013, two players (D. J. Fluker and Justin Pugh) with a year of college football eligibility remaining, but who had already graduated, became the first "fourth-year juniors" to be granted clearance to play in the Senior Bowl.[5] Dan Lynch of Washington State was the first (and to date only) player to appear in two Senior Bowls (1984 and 1985), having been granted an extra year of eligibility after the 1984 game.[6]

The game has consistently been played on a Saturday in January, with the exception of 1976, when it was held on a Sunday. The scheduling date within January has varied – the earliest playing has been January 3 (1953 and 1959), while the latest playing has been January 30 (2010 and 2016). Since 1967, it has been traditionally set for the week before the NFL's Super Bowl (which itself is now played in February). It is usually scheduled as the final game of the college football season, although for a period during the 1980s and 1990s, it was the next-to-the-last game, followed a week later by either the Hula Bowl or the Gridiron Classic. From 2007 through 2011, and also in 2013, the Senior Bowl was again the penultimate game, followed by the Texas vs. The Nation Game a week later. In 2020, the revived Hula Bowl was scheduled for the day after the Senior Bowl.

The single-season record for number of players sent to the Senior Bowl from one school is 10 by Alabama in 1987, followed by nine sent by Auburn in 1988 and Southern California in 2008.[7]

Players have traditionally been rostered into North and South teams for the Senior Bowl. From 1991 to 1993, the teams were designated AFC and NFC, to distinguish where their coaching staffs were from and to stress the professional nature of the game. This was confusing to some, as the game occurred well before players had been selected by teams in the NFL draft. In 1994, the designations were reverted to the traditional North vs. South format.

• All-time series, through the 2020 game (71 editions): South (35–30–3); AFC (2–1)
• The first game was played in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1950. All subsequent games have been played in Mobile, Alabama.

Coaching appearances

Marty Schottenheimer won three of the four Senior Bowls he coached.

Seven people have served as head coach in four or more Senior Bowls.

Games	Head coach	W	L	T	Win pct.
8	Paul Brown	6	2	–	.750
7	Weeb Ewbank	5	2	–	.714
6	Steve Owen	3	3	–	.500
4	Marty Schottenheimer	3	1	–	.750
4	Don Shula	2	1	1	.625
4	Jon Gruden	2	2	–	.500
4	Tom Landry	1	2	1	.375

Games coached by NFL teams

Ted Marchibroda led the Baltimore Ravens staff in their only time coaching the Senior Bowl (1998).

Each of the current 32 NFL teams has coached in at least one Senior Bowl. Records include games played under a franchise's prior names (e.g. Boston Patriots appearances are included in the record of the New England Patriots). Updated through the 2020 game (71 editions, 142 appearances).

Games	NFL team	W	L	T	Win pct.	Most recent
12	New York Giants	5	7	–	.417	1995
11	Cleveland Browns	9	2	–	.818	2017
10	Detroit Lions	3	6	1	.350	2020
8	Indianapolis Colts	5	2	1	.688	1995
7	Denver Broncos	2	3	2	.429	2018
7	Washington Redskins	3	4	–	.429	2012
6	Kansas City Chiefs	3	3	–	.500	2000
6	Oakland Raiders	3	3	–	.500	2019
6	San Francisco 49ers	2	3	1	.417	2019
5	New Orleans Saints	2	3	–	.400	1991
5	Dallas Cowboys	1	3	1	.300	2016
4	Jacksonville Jaguars	3	1	–	.750	2016
4	Arizona Cardinals	2	2	–	.500	2002
4	Miami Dolphins	2	2	–	.500	2010
4	New York Jets	2	2	–	.500	1979
4	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2	2	–	.500	2007
4	Chicago Bears	0	4	–	.000	2017
4	Cincinnati Bengals	0	4	–	.000	2020
3	Seattle Seahawks	2	1	–	.667	2002
3	Atlanta Falcons	1	2	–	.333	2014
3	Buffalo Bills	1	2	–	.333	2011
3	New England Patriots	1	2	–	.333	1976
3	Philadelphia Eagles	1	2	–	.333	1994
2	Green Bay Packers	2	0	–	1.000	2001
2	Houston Texans	2	0	–	1.000	2018
2	Los Angeles Chargers	2	0	–	1.000	2004
2	Minnesota Vikings	2	0	–	1.000	2012
2	Tennessee Titans	2	0	–	1.000	2015
2	Los Angeles Rams	1	1	–	.500	1989
2	Pittsburgh Steelers	1	1	–	.500	2001
1	Carolina Panthers	1	0	–	1.000	2000
1	Baltimore Ravens	0	1	–	.000	1998

Year Name Pos. College team 1950 Travis Tidwell QB Auburn 1951 Bucky Curtis WR Vanderbilt 1952 Al Dorow QB Michigan State 1953 Harry Agganis QB Boston University 1954 Gene Filipski RB Villanova 1955 Bobby Freeman QB Auburn 1956 Don Goss DL SMU 1957 Don Bosseler FB Miami (FL) 1958 Jim Taylor FB LSU 1959 Theron Sapp Norm Odyniec FB RB Georgia Notre Dame 1960 Jacky Lee QB Cincinnati 1961 Dick Norman QB Stanford 1962 Earl Gros Ronnie Bull RB RB LSU Baylor 1963 Glynn Griffing QB Ole Miss 1964 Ode Burrell RB Mississippi State 1965 Steve DeLong DL Tennessee 1966 Howard Twilley WR Tulsa 1967 Bubba Smith DT Michigan State 1968 Kim Hammond QB Florida State 1969 Jerry Levias WR SMU 1970 Terry Bradshaw QB Louisiana Tech 1971 J. D. Hill WR Arizona State 1972 Pat Sullivan QB Auburn 1973 Chuck Foreman RB Miami (FL) 1974 Bill Kollar DL Montana State 1975 Steve Bartkowski QB California 1976 Craig Penrose QB San Diego State 1977 Tommy Kramer QB Rice 1978 James Lofton WR Stanford 1979 Willie Jones DL Florida State 1980 Marc Wilson QB Brigham Young 1981 Neil Lomax QB Portland State 1982 John Fourcade Steve Clark QB DL Ole Miss Utah 1983 Dan Marino Terry Kinard QB DB Pittsburgh Clemson

Year Name Pos. College team 1984 Walter Lewis Doug Smith QB DL Alabama Auburn 1985 Paul Ott Carruth RB Alabama 1986 Napoleon McCallum RB Navy 1987 Don Smith QB Mississippi State 1988 Thurman Thomas RB Oklahoma State 1989 Cleveland Gary RB Miami (FL) 1990 Blair Thomas RB Penn State 1991 Alvin Harper WR Tennessee 1992 Tony Smith RB Southern Miss 1993 Eric Hunter QB Purdue 1994 Stan White QB Auburn 1995 Derrick Brooks LB Florida State 1996 Bobby Hoying QB Ohio State 1997 Pat Barnes QB California 1998 Dameyune Craig QB Auburn 1999 Cade McNown QB UCLA 2000 Chad Pennington QB Marshall 2001 LaDainian Tomlinson RB TCU 2002 Antwaan Randle El WR Indiana 2003 Larry Johnson RB Penn State 2004 Philip Rivers QB NC State 2005 Charlie Frye QB Akron 2006 Sinorice Moss WR Miami (FL) 2007 Tony Hunt RB Penn State 2008 Matt Forte RB Tulane 2009 Pat White QB West Virginia 2010 Brandon Graham DL Michigan 2011 Christian Ponder QB Florida State 2012 Isaiah Pead RB Cincinnati 2013 EJ Manuel QB Florida State 2014 Dee Ford DL Auburn 2015 Ameer Abdullah RB Nebraska 2016 Dak Prescott QB Mississippi State 2017 Davis Webb QB California 2018 Kyle Lauletta QB Richmond 2019 Daniel Jones QB Duke 2020 Justin Herbert QB Oregon

Source:[8]
denotes an MVP whose college team was not part of the top tier of college football (e.g. FBS, Division I-A, or historical predecessors) at the time they played in the Senior Bowl. There have been four such MVPs: Terry Bradshaw (Louisiana Tech, 1969 College Division season), Bill Kollar (Montana State, 1973 Division II season), Neil Lomax (Portland State, 1980 Division I–AA season), and Kyle Lauletta (Richmond, 2017 FCS season).

The following team was selected by fan voting before the 1999 game:[9]

Established in 1987, the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame seeks to pay tribute to the many outstanding former Senior Bowl players who have made lasting contributions to the game of football. The Senior Bowl Hall of Fame also allows enshrinement to former coaches, administrators and other individuals whose efforts helped the Senior Bowl.

• 1988 – Joe Greene, Lee Roy Jordan, Steve Largent, Joe Namath, Walter Payton, Pat Sullivan, Jim Taylor, Travis Tidwell
• 1989 – Ed Jones, Ozzie Newsome, John Stallworth, Gene Upshaw, Jack Youngblood
• 1990 – Paul Brown, Tucker Frederickson, Jerry Kramer, Neil Lomax, Wellington Mara, Finley McRae, Jack Pardee, Rea Scheussler
• 1991 – Morten Andersen, James Brooks, Dave Butz, Weeb Ewbank, Doug Williams
• 1992 – Franco Harris, Mike Holovak, Sam Huff, Dan Marino, Don Shula, Pat Swilling
• 1993 – Cornelius Bennett, Bear Bryant, Ralph Jordan, Tom Landry, Marty Schottenheimer, Lynn Swann
• 1994 – Robert Brazile, Rickey Jackson, Mark Rypien, Jim Simpson
• 1995 – Bob Baumhower, Pat Dye, Bo Jackson, Gene Washington
• 1996 – James Lofton, Dick Steinberg, Kellen Winslow
• 1997 – Bob Hayes, Sterling Sharpe, Doak Walker
• 1998 – Jim McMahon, Ray Nitschke, Thurman Thomas
• 1999 – Tom Banks, Dale Carter, Paul Krause, Albert Lewis, Randall McDaniel, Art Monk, E. B. Peebles, Jr., Derrick Thomas, Roger Wehrli
• 2000 – Hanford Dixon, Brett Favre, Chuck Howley
• 2001 – William Andrews, Ron Jaworski, Eddie Robinson
• 2002 – Todd Christensen, Bert Jones, Steve McNair
• 2003 – Terry Beasley, Jeremiah Castille, Ted Hendricks
• 2004 – Derrick Brooks, Christian Okoye, Richard Todd
• 2005 – Larry Allen, Al Del Greco, Ray Perkins
• 2006 – Curtis Martin, Tony Nathan, Michael Strahan
• 2007 – E. J. Junior, Jake Plummer, Hines Ward
• 2008 – Dean Kleinschmidt, Kevin Mawae, Brian Urlacher
• 2009 – Jason Taylor, Shaun Alexander
• 2010 – Larry Johnson, Terrell Owens
• 2011 – None, due to NFL lockout[10]
• 2012 – Keith Brooking, Donovan McNabb, Dan Reeves
• 2013 – John Abraham, Sylvester Croom, Aeneas Williams
• 2014 – Bill Kolar, Torry Holt, DeMarcus Ware
• 2015 – Woodrow Lowe, Tony Richardson, Kyle Williams
• 2016 – Steve Hutchinson, Bill Curry, Tamba Hali
• 2017 – Blaine Bishop, Lance Briggs, Jim Harbaugh
• 2018 – Al Wilson, Phil Villapiano, Jay Novacek[11]
• 2019 – Rodney Hudson, DeMarco McNeil, Billy Neighbors[12]

• Cactus Bowl (Division II)
• List of college bowl games

• "Senior Bowl Players Drill in Cold Weather". Prescott Evening Courier. Associated Press. January 8, 1958. p. 5. Retrieved December 16, 2016.

• Official website
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• Senior Bowl at NFL.com