No. 44, 21, 20 | |||||||||
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Position: | Running back | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Born: | Milledgeville, Georgia, U.S. | September 15, 1962||||||||
Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school: | Baldwin (Milledgeville) | ||||||||
College: | East Carolina | ||||||||
NFL draft: | 1984 / round: 10 / pick: 280 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
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As a coach: | |||||||||
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As an executive: | |||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
As a player:
As an executive: | |||||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Earnest Alexander Byner (born September 15, 1962) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the East Carolina Pirates. He is now the running back coach of Out-of-Door Academy.[ citation needed ]
Byner was a fullback at East Carolina University from 1980 to 1983 where he gained 2,049 yards on 378 carries. Byner was inducted into the East Carolina Hall of Fame in 1998. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
Byner was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the tenth round (280th pick overall) of the 1984 NFL draft. [1] He played for the Browns (1984–1988; 1994–1995), Washington Redskins (1989–1993) and the Baltimore Ravens (1996–1997). He finished his 14-year NFL career ranked 16th on the NFL's all-time rushing list with 8,261 yards on 2,095 carries, with 56 touchdowns. He also caught 512 passes for 4,605 yards and 15 touchdowns, returned 33 kickoffs for 576 yards, and scored a touchdown on a recovered fumble, totaling 13,442 all-purpose yards and 72 career scores. In addition to his #16 rushing yards ranking at the time of his retirement, Byner finished his career within the NFL's top 50 all-time leaders in rushing attempts, rushing touchdowns, and total yards. Byner's 512 receptions is tied for 13th most by halfback/fullback/running back in NFL history as of 2018.
A productive, reliable running back who could rush, block and catch the ball out of the backfield, Byner was a popular player in Cleveland. Paired with power runner Kevin Mack in the Brown backfield, the pair both gained over 1,000 yards in the 1985 season. Byner helped the Browns reach the AFC Championship game in both 1986 and 1987 seasons, meeting the Denver Broncos in both games.
In the 1987 AFC Championship game he was instrumental in a Browns comeback from a 21–3 deficit to place the Browns in position to win the game. With the score tied at 31 midway through the 4th quarter, the Broncos scored a go-ahead touchdown to make the score 38–31 with six minutes to play. In the ensuing Cleveland drive the Browns worked the ball down the field to reach the Denver 8 yard line with a little over a minute left in the game. On the next play Byner took the Kosar handoff to run off left tackle. Byner powered past the Bronco line and looked sure to score a game-tying touchdown when Bronco defensive back Jeremiah Castille managed to strip him of the ball. The play, now known simply as The Fumble, became the play for which Byner is best remembered. The fumble marred an otherwise impressive performance, as he finished the game with 67 rushing yards, seven receptions for 120 yards, and two touchdowns.
Byner played another season with Cleveland before being traded to the Washington Redskins for running back Mike Oliphant before the start of the 1989 season. In Super Bowl XXVI, in 1992, he caught a touchdown pass in the second quarter, and the Redskins won, giving him the NFL Championship he could not win with the Browns.
Byner was a Pro Bowl selection in 1990 when he ranked fourth in the NFL with 1,219 yards rushing and in 1991 when he ranked fifth in the NFL with 1,048 yards rushing. His time with the Redskins earned him a position as one of the franchise's 70 Greatest Redskins.
He worked in the Baltimore Ravens front office as the Director of Player Development after retiring as a player. He was the first player to be inducted into the Ravens' Ring of Honor in 2000.
In January 2004, Byner was hired to be the Running Backs Coach on Joe Gibbs' staff. [2] He held the same position with the Redskins organization for four seasons.
On March 10, 2008, Byner was officially announced as the Running Back Coach for the Tennessee Titans. He was replaced by the Tennessee Titans on January 25, 2010, by former Running Back coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kennedy Pola. [3] [4]
He was named the Jacksonville Jaguars running backs coach on February 4, 2010. [4]
He was named Buccaneers running backs coach on February 19, 2012, [4] [5] but was let go after the 2013 season when the head coach and GM were fired. [6] [7]
Legend | |
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Super Bowl champion | |
Led the league | |
Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Y/G | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | FR | ||
1984 | CLE | 16 | 3 | 72 | 426 | 5.9 | 26.6 | 54 | 2 | 11 | 118 | 10.7 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
1985 | CLE | 16 | 13 | 244 | 1,002 | 4.1 | 62.6 | 36 | 8 | 45 | 460 | 10.2 | 31 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
1986 | CLE | 7 | 7 | 94 | 277 | 2.9 | 39.6 | 37 | 2 | 37 | 328 | 8.9 | 40 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
1987 | CLE | 12 | 12 | 105 | 432 | 4.1 | 36.0 | 21 | 8 | 52 | 552 | 10.6 | 37 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
1988 | CLE | 16 | 16 | 157 | 576 | 3.7 | 36.0 | 27 | 3 | 59 | 576 | 9.8 | 39 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
1989 | WAS | 16 | 13 | 134 | 580 | 4.3 | 36.3 | 24 | 7 | 54 | 458 | 8.5 | 27 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
1990 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 297 | 1,219 | 4.1 | 76.2 | 22 | 6 | 31 | 279 | 9.0 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
1991 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 274 | 1,048 | 3.8 | 65.5 | 32 | 5 | 34 | 308 | 9.1 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
1992 | WAS | 16 | 16 | 262 | 998 | 3.8 | 62.4 | 23 | 6 | 39 | 338 | 8.7 | 29 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
1993 | WAS | 16 | 3 | 23 | 105 | 4.6 | 6.6 | 16 | 1 | 27 | 194 | 7.2 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
1994 | CLE | 16 | 1 | 75 | 219 | 2.9 | 13.7 | 15 | 2 | 11 | 102 | 9.3 | 30 | 0 | – | – |
1995 | CLE | 16 | 2 | 115 | 432 | 3.8 | 27.0 | 23 | 2 | 61 | 494 | 8.1 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
1996 | BAL | 16 | 8 | 159 | 634 | 4.0 | 39.6 | 42 | 4 | 30 | 270 | 9.0 | 40 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
1997 | BAL | 16 | 5 | 84 | 313 | 3.7 | 19.6 | 19 | 0 | 21 | 128 | 6.1 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
Career | 211 | 131 | 2,095 | 8,261 | 3.9 | 39.2 | 54 | 56 | 512 | 4,605 | 9.0 | 40 | 15 | 31 | 18 |
Super Bowl XXII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins and American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1987 season. The Redskins defeated the Broncos by the score of 42–10, winning their second Super Bowl. The game was played on January 31, 1988, at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California, which was the first time that the Super Bowl was played there. It was the second consecutive Super Bowl loss for the Broncos, who had lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl the year before.
Super Bowl XXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1991 season. The Redskins defeated the Bills by a score of 37–24, becoming the fourth team after the Pittsburgh Steelers, the now Las Vegas Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers to win three Super Bowls. The Bills became the third team, after the Minnesota Vikings and the Denver Broncos to lose back-to-back Super Bowls. The game was played on January 26, 1992, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the first time the city played host to a Super Bowl.
In American football, The Fumble is a play that occurred during the 1987 AFC Championship Game between the Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos on January 17, 1988, at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado. The fumble occurred late in the fourth quarter of the game and cost the Browns a chance to tie the contest; the Broncos went on to win the game and the AFC Championship, advancing to Super Bowl XXII.
The National Football League playoffs for the 1987 season began on January 3, 1988. The postseason tournament concluded with the Washington Redskins defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII, 42–10, on January 31, at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California.
The National Football League playoffs for the 1986 season began on December 28, 1986. The postseason tournament concluded with the New York Giants defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI, 39–20, on January 25, 1987, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
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