Former Assistant Coach Ted Cottrell Honored by Pro Football Hall of Fame
Mar 25 | Football
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Former Rutgers football assistant coach Ted Cottrell earned recognition from the Pro Football Hall of Fame this week as one of three coaches bestowed "Awards of Excellence" for 2026. Considered an innovator of the 3-4 defense, the Chester, Pennsylvania, native started his career as defensive line coach for the Scarlet Knights under head coach Frank Burns and spent nine seasons overall at RU. He served 24 seasons in the NFL with six organizations.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame established the "Awards of Excellence" in 2022 to recognize significant contributors to the game in behind-the-scenes roles. This year's class will be honored June 24-25 in Canton, Ohio.
After being named all-conference three times at Delaware Valley and playing two years for the Atlanta Falcons (1969-70) in the NFL and one for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1971) of the CFL, Cottrell served one season (1972) as assistant football coach and head track coach at his alma mater before joining Burns' original RU staff in 1973. He was part of eight consecutive winning seasons, including the undefeated 11-0 1976 squad. That defense led the nation in scoring defense (7.6), total defense (179.2) and rushing defense (83.9), holding eight opponents under 10 points with four shutouts.
Under Cottrell's guidance on the defensive line, two-time All-America selection Nate Toran became the Scarlet Knights' all-time leader with 52 career sacks, 23 more than second place held by teammate Dan Gray (1975-77) in the school record book. Toran also owns the top three single-season sack marks: 19 (1974), 17 (1976) and 16 (1975). He became the fifth player in program history to earn first team All-America status in 1976 after winning a school-record 18 consecutive games to end his career. Cottrell also mentored All-Americans on the defensive line in John Alexander (1975) and Dino Mangiero (1978).
In 1978, Cottrell was part of a staff that led RU to its first bowl game in program history, a matchup against Arizona State in the Garden State Bowl. He was elevated by Burns to defensive coordinator in 1980, as Deron Cherry and Ken Smith both earned All-America honors from the secondary that season.
Cottrell's first NFL coaching experience came with the Kansas City Chiefs (1981-82) as linebackers coach under Hall of Fame head coach Marv Levy. He returned to Rutgers as defensive coordinator in 1983, with linebacker Jim Dumont claiming All-America accolades. Staying in the state, he worked two years (1984-85) as defensive line coach for the New Jersey Generals of the USFL.
From there, Cottrell was reunited with Levy in Buffalo (1986-89), where he molded Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith. Cottrell presented Smith, the NFL's all-time leader with 200 career sacks, at his Canton enshrinement in 2009.
Cottrell then spent time with the Phoenix (later Arizona) Cardinals as both a defensive line (1990-93) and linebackers (1994) coach, before returning to Buffalo as a linebackers coach (1995-97) and defensive coordinator (1998-00). In 2001, Cottrell became an assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for the New York Jets, where he refined and implemented head coach Herman Edwards' 4-3 scheme, an alignment he would take with him in his ensuing defensive coordinator roles with the Minnesota Vikings (2004-05) and San Diego Chargers (2007-08), where he utilized multiple alignments and led the NFL in takeaways (48) in 2007.
Photo credit: 1983 Rutgers Football Media Guide/Home News
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The Pro Football Hall of Fame established the "Awards of Excellence" in 2022 to recognize significant contributors to the game in behind-the-scenes roles. This year's class will be honored June 24-25 in Canton, Ohio.
After being named all-conference three times at Delaware Valley and playing two years for the Atlanta Falcons (1969-70) in the NFL and one for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1971) of the CFL, Cottrell served one season (1972) as assistant football coach and head track coach at his alma mater before joining Burns' original RU staff in 1973. He was part of eight consecutive winning seasons, including the undefeated 11-0 1976 squad. That defense led the nation in scoring defense (7.6), total defense (179.2) and rushing defense (83.9), holding eight opponents under 10 points with four shutouts.
Under Cottrell's guidance on the defensive line, two-time All-America selection Nate Toran became the Scarlet Knights' all-time leader with 52 career sacks, 23 more than second place held by teammate Dan Gray (1975-77) in the school record book. Toran also owns the top three single-season sack marks: 19 (1974), 17 (1976) and 16 (1975). He became the fifth player in program history to earn first team All-America status in 1976 after winning a school-record 18 consecutive games to end his career. Cottrell also mentored All-Americans on the defensive line in John Alexander (1975) and Dino Mangiero (1978).
In 1978, Cottrell was part of a staff that led RU to its first bowl game in program history, a matchup against Arizona State in the Garden State Bowl. He was elevated by Burns to defensive coordinator in 1980, as Deron Cherry and Ken Smith both earned All-America honors from the secondary that season.
Cottrell's first NFL coaching experience came with the Kansas City Chiefs (1981-82) as linebackers coach under Hall of Fame head coach Marv Levy. He returned to Rutgers as defensive coordinator in 1983, with linebacker Jim Dumont claiming All-America accolades. Staying in the state, he worked two years (1984-85) as defensive line coach for the New Jersey Generals of the USFL.
From there, Cottrell was reunited with Levy in Buffalo (1986-89), where he molded Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith. Cottrell presented Smith, the NFL's all-time leader with 200 career sacks, at his Canton enshrinement in 2009.
Cottrell then spent time with the Phoenix (later Arizona) Cardinals as both a defensive line (1990-93) and linebackers (1994) coach, before returning to Buffalo as a linebackers coach (1995-97) and defensive coordinator (1998-00). In 2001, Cottrell became an assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for the New York Jets, where he refined and implemented head coach Herman Edwards' 4-3 scheme, an alignment he would take with him in his ensuing defensive coordinator roles with the Minnesota Vikings (2004-05) and San Diego Chargers (2007-08), where he utilized multiple alignments and led the NFL in takeaways (48) in 2007.
Photo credit: 1983 Rutgers Football Media Guide/Home News
Follow Rutgers football on X (@RFootball & @RUboardwalk), Facebook (/RFootballShow) and Instagram (@rfootball & @ruboardwalk) for the latest news and updates. Also subscribe to the YouTube channel.
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