Chad Greenway (born January 12, 1983) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

who spent his entire 11-year career with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expan ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most o ...

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to ...

, and was drafted by the Vikings in the first round of the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...

Early years

Greenway attended Mount Vernon High School in Mount Vernon, South Dakota, where he was a three-time South Dakota All-state performer, earning first-team honors as a junior and senior and third-team honors as a sophomore. He was named

Gatorade Football Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball, boys' and girls' basketball, boys' and girls' cross country, boys' football, boys' a ...

as a senior in 2001. also Argus Leader and Sports Max Player of the Year. He also earned first-team All-conference honors for three straight seasons, as well as MVP honors. He played

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ameri ...

and

free safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dutie ...

and returned punts and kickoffs, helping prep team win two consecutive state titles as a junior and senior. His career totals include 364 rushing attempts for 3,118 yards and 171-290 passes for 2,572 yards. On defense, he recorded 407 tackles and 23

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

. As a senior, he completed 62 of his 114 pass attempts for 1,147 yards and rushed for 1,320 yards at quarterback, and also added 132 tackles and four interceptions at safety. Greenway also lettered in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

and

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping event ...

at Mount Vernon.

College career

Greenway attended the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 c ...

, and played for the

Iowa Hawkeyes football The Iowa Hawkeyes football program represents the University of Iowa in college football. The Hawkeyes compete in the West division of the Big Ten Conference. Iowa joined the Conference (then known as the Western Conference or Big Nine) in 189 ...

team from 2002 to 2005. He redshirted his freshman season in 2001. As a

redshirt freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2002, he suffered a knee injury that required surgery and did not play in the first four games. In 2003, he started at

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pla ...

in all 13 games and was named second-team All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. Greenway was named the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representat ...

's joint Defensive Player of the Week vs. Arizona State, and won the Hustle Team Award at Iowa. In 2004, he was named a first-team All-American by ''Pro Football Weekly'', a second-team All-American by ''CNNSI.com'', and a third-team All-American by ''CollegeSportsReport.com''. Within the conference, Greenway was named first-team All-

and selected as a first-team all-

player by ''Collegefootballnews.com''. Greenway was selected by the team as Iowa's Special Teams Player of the Year, won the Hustle Team Award for defense, and was one of three juniors selected to the team Leadership Council for 2004 season. In 2005, Greenway was named preseason All-America by ''The Sporting News'', ''NationalChamps.net'', and was named to the preseason honorable mention All-America squad selected by NationalChamps.net. He was ranked as the No. 2 outside linebacker by ''The Sporting News'', and named to the

Bronko Nagurski Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski (November 3, 1908 – January 7, 1990) was a Canadian-born professional American football player in the National Football League (NFL), renowned for his strength and size. Nagurski was also a successful professional ...

and Lott Trophy watch lists.

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

The

selected Greenway in the first round (17th overall) of the

. Greenway was the third linebacker drafted in 2006, behind Ohio State's A. J. Hawk (fifth overall) and Florida State's Ernie Sims (ninth overall).

2006

On July 23, 2006, the Minnesota Vikings signed Greenway to a five-year, $10.75 million contract that includes $6.14 million guaranteed. Throughout training camp, Greenway competed to be a starting outside linebacker against E. J. Henderson and Ben Leber. On August 14, 2006, Greenway tore his ACL in his left leg while covering a kickoff in the first quarter of the Vikings' 16–13 loss to the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Rai ...

in their first preseason game. He subsequently missed his entire rookie season in

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2007

The Minnesota Vikings hired Leslie Frazier as their new defensive coordinator after

Mike Tomlin Michael Pettaway Tomlin (born March 15, 1972) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Since joining the Steelers in 2007, he has led the team to ten playoff runs, ...

accepted the head coaching position with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Ste ...

. Greenway entered training camp slated as a starting outside linebacker. Head coach Brad Childress named Greenway the starting weakside linebacker to begin the regular season, alongside Ben Leber and middle linebacker E. J. Henderson. He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Minnesota Vikings' season-opener against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined t ...

and recorded ten combined tackles (four solo) in their 24–3 victory. On November 18, 2007, he recorded seven combined tackles, a season-high two pass deflections, and made his first career interception off a pass by quarterback

Daunte Culpepper Daunte Rachard Culpepper (born January 28, 1977) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at UCF and was sele ...

during a 29–22 victory against the

in Week 11. In Week 12, Greenway made three solo tackles, a pass deflection, and returned an interception for his first career touchdown in the Vikings' 41–17 win at the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

. Greenway intercepted a pass by Giants' quarterback

Eli Manning Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning football dynasty, he is the youngest s ...

and returned it for a 37-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. On December 9, 2007, he collected a season-high 13 combined tackles (eight solo) during a 27–7 victory at the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

in Week 14. Greenway started all 16 games in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhut ...

and recorded 105 combined tackles (78 solo), four pass deflections, two forced fumbles, two interceptions, and one touchdown.

2008

Head coach Brad Childress retained Greenway and Ben Leber as the starting outside linebackers in 2008, along with middle linebacker E. J. Henderson. On September 21, 2008, Greenway recorded nine combined tackles and made his first career sack on quarterback Jake Delhomme during a 20–10 win against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division ...

in Week 3. In Week 11, he collected a season-high 16 solo tackles, made a pass deflection, and a sack in the Vikings' 13–10 loss at the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The clu ...

. In Week 15, Greenway recorded seven combined tackles, a season-high three pass deflections, and a sack in a 35–14 win at the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play th ...

. Greenway finished the 2008 season with 115 combined tackles (78 solo), a career-high 5.5 sacks, and five pass deflections in 16 games and 15 starts. The

finished first in the

NFC North The National Football Conference – Northern Division or NFC North is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed the "Black and Blue Division" for the rough and tough ...

with a 10–6 record. On January 4, 2009, Greenway recorded ten combined tackles (nine solo) during the Vikings' 26–14 loss against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

in the NFC Wildcard Game.

2009

On September 20, 2009, Greenway recorded four combined tackles, deflected two passes, and made a career-high two interceptions during a 27–13 victory at the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

in Week 2. Greenway made both interceptions off pass attempts by Lions' quarterback

Matthew Stafford John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, where he was a first-team All-American, and was selected ...

. In Week 8, he collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (ten solo) and broke up one pass in the Vikings' 38–26 win at the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the thi ...

. He started all 16 games in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Prote ...

and recorded 99 combined tackles (80 solo), a career-high six pass deflections, and three interceptions. The

finished first in the NFC North with a 12–4 record and earned a first round bye. On January 17, 2010, he recorded six combined tackles, a pass deflection, and a sack in a 34–3 win against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

in the NFC Divisional Round. On January 24, 2010, Greenway made eight combined tackles during a 31–28 loss at the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

in the

NFC Championship Game The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semi-final National Football League playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional Amer ...

2010

Head coach Brad Childress retained Greenway, Ben Leber, and E.J. Henderson as the starting linebackers for the fourth consecutive season. He started in the Minnesota Vikings' season-opener at the

and collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (nine solo) in their 14–9 loss. On October 24, 2010, he tied his season-high of 12 combined tackles (ten solo) in the Vikings' 28–24 loss at the

in Week 7. On November 22, 2010, the Minnesota Vikings fired head coach Brad Childress after they lost 31–3 to the Green Bay Packers and fell to a 3–7 record. Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier was promoted to interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Greenway started in all 16 games in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony o ...

and recorded 144 combined tackles (109 solo), three interceptions, one pass deflection, a forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.

2011

On February 21, 2011, the Minnesota Vikings exercised their

franchise player In professional sports, a franchise player is an athlete who is both the best player on their team and one that the team can build their " franchise" around for the foreseeable future. Overview In the United States, outstanding players were ref ...

on Greenway. On March 1, 2011, Greenway signed his one-year, $10.09 million franchise tag. Linebackers coach Fred Pagac was promoted to defensive coordinator and retained Greenway as the starting weakside linebacker. Head coach Leslie Frazier named Greenway and

Erin Henderson Erin Henderson (born July 1, 1986) is a former American football inside linebacker that played nine seasons in National Football League (NFL). He is currently an assistant linebackers coach at Avila University. He was signed by the Minnesota Vi ...

the starting outside linebackers to begin the regular season in 2011, along with middle linebacker E. J. Henderson. On September 5, 2011, the Minnesota Vikings signed Greenway to a five-year, $41 million

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

that includes $20 million guaranteed. On November 20, 2011, Greenway recorded 15 combined tackles (seven solo) and one sack during a 27–21 loss to the

in Week 11. In Week 12, he collected a season-high 16 combined tackles (seven solo) in the Vikings' 24-14 loss at the

. On December 24, 2011, Greenway tied his season-high of 16 combined tackles (four solo) and broke up a pass during a 33–26 victory at the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

in Week 16. He started all 16 games in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who Assassination of Muammar Gaddafi, was killed tha ...

and recorded a career-high 154 combined tackles (89 solo), two pass deflections, and two sacks. On January 9, 2012, it was announced that Greenway would play in the

2012 Pro Bowl The 2012 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2011 season. It took place at 2:00 pm local time on Sunday, January 29, 2012, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The AFC defeated the NFC, 59–41. The 59 point ...

as an replacement for Lance Briggs who was unable to participate due to an injury. This became Greenway's first

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thr ...

selection.

2012

On January 14, 2012, the Minnesota Vikings announced the decision to relieve Fred Pagac of his duties as defensive coordinator and demote him to linebackers coach after the defense was ranked 21st in 2011. They also ranked 26th in pass defense and 11th in run defense in 2011. Head coach Leslie Frazier named Greenway the starting weakside linebacker to start the regular season, along with Erin Henderson and middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley. He started in the Minnesota Vikings' season-opener against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

and recorded 13 combined tackles (nine solo) and a season-high two pass deflections in their 26–23 victory. On October 5, 2012, Greenway was fined $21,000 for unnecessary roughness after he struck wide receiver

Calvin Johnson Calvin Johnson Jr., (born September 29, 1985) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons with the Detroit Lions. He played college football at Georgia Tech, where he twice ...

in the head and neck area. On November 11, 2012, he recorded five combined tackles, deflected a pass, and made an interception during a 34–24 win against the

in Week 10. In Week 13, Greenway collected a season-high 16 combined tackles (13 solo) during the Vikings' 23–14 loss at the

. Greenway started in all 16 games in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gathe ...

and recorded 148 combined tackles (98 solo), four pass deflections, three sacks, and an interception. The Minnesota Vikings finished second in the NFC North with a 10–6 record and earned a wildcard berth. On January 5, 2013, Greenway recorded 11 combined tackles (ten solo) as the Vikings lost 24–10 at the

in the NFC Wildcard Game. On January 10, 2013, it was announced that Greenway was selected to play in the

2013 Pro Bowl The 2013 Pro Bowl was the National Football League (NFL)'s sixty-third annual all-star game which featured players from the 2012 season. It took place at 2:30 pm Hawaii–Aleutian Time ( UTC−10:00; 7:30 pm Eastern Time) on Sunday, Ja ...

as a replacement for DeMarcus Ware who was unable to play due to an injury.

2013

Defensive coordinator Alan Williams retained Greenway as the starting weakside linebacker, along with Marvin Mitchell and middle linebacker Erin Henderson. On September 29, 2013, Greenway collected a season-high ten solo tackles, deflected a pass, made a sack, and made an interception during a 34–27 victory against the

in their Week 4 game in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Greenway intercepted a pass by Steelers' quarterback

Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. (; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football ...

, that was originally intended for wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, in the third quarter. In Week 10, he collected a season-high 16 combined tackles (five solo) in the Vikings' 34–27 win against the

. He started all 16 games and recorded 134 combined tackles (83 solo), four pass deflections, three interceptions, and three sacks. On December 30, 2013, the Minnesota Vikings fired head coach Leslie Frazier after they finished the season with a 5–10–1 record.

2014–2017

On March 31, 2016, Greenway announced that he was returning for an 11th season with the Vikings and that it would be his last. On March 6, 2017, Greenway officially announced his retirement from the

NFL statistics

Personal

Greenway married in July 2006 to Jenni Capista, a former

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping even ...

athlete at Iowa. The couple has four daughters. Chad's Locker at Hutchinson Health

In 2008, the Greenways established a charitable foundation, Chad and Jenni Greenway’s Lead The Way Foundation, the mission of which is "to enrich the lives of individuals and families in need" by providing "seriously ill and physically challenged children throughout the Twin Cities with daily support and life-changing experiences." As of 2022, the foundation has helped nearly 375,000 people in the Twin Cities. In the 2016 season, for his charitable work, Greenway was named the Vikings' Community Man of the Year for the fourth consecutive year. In the same year, he was also the Vikings' nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award.

References

External links

Iowa profile

http://www.chadgreenway.org/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenway, Chad 1983 births Living people American football outside linebackers Iowa Hawkeyes football players Minnesota Vikings players National Conference Pro Bowl players People from Davison County, South Dakota Players of American football from South Dakota Ed Block Courage Award recipients