Anthony Lee Weaver (born July 28, 1980) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former player who is the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

for the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He previously served for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

, the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

, the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

, the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

and the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. Weaver was a

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

at Notre Dame and was drafted by the Ravens in the second round of the

2002 NFL draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted ...

. He also previously played for the Texans.

Early life

Weaver was born in

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor County, Texas, Taylor and Jones County, Texas, Jones counties, Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan ar ...

on July 28, 1980. He attended

Saratoga Springs High School Saratoga Springs High School is a public high school in Saratoga Springs, New York. The school was originally located on Lake Avenue, relocating to its current location prior to 1969. The current campus was renovated in 2002. The school's drama ...

Saratoga Springs Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Playing career

Baltimore Ravens

Weaver was selected by the

in the 2nd round (52nd overall) of the

. In four seasons for the Ravens, he started 54 regular season games, as well as one playoff game.

Houston Texans

In March 2006, Weaver signed a free-agent contract with the

. He spent three seasons in Houston, where he started 44 regular season games.

NFL statistics

Key * GP: games played * COMB: combined tackles * TOTAL: total tackles * AST: assisted tackles * SACK: sacks * FF: forced fumbles * FR: fumble recoveries * FR YDS: fumble return yards * INT: interceptions * IR YDS: interception return yards * AVG IR: average interception return * LNG: longest interception return * TD: interceptions returned for touchdown * PD: passes defensed

Coaching career

College coaching

Florida

In 2010, Weaver was hired as a defensive graduate assistant at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

Urban Meyer Urban Frank Meyer III (born July 10, 1964) is an American Sports commentator, sportscaster and former college football coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the Bowling Green F ...

North Texas

When defensive line coach

Dan McCarney Patrick Daniel McCarney (born July 28, 1953) is an American former college football coach. He served as the head football coach at Iowa State University from 1995 to 2006 and the University of North Texas from 2011 to 2015, compiling a career h ...

took the head coaching job at the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

, Weaver was named interim defensive line coach for the Outback Bowl. Shortly after the bowl game, Weaver reunited with McCarney as the linebackers coach for the Mean Green.

NFL

New York Jets

In February 2012, Weaver was hired by the

as their assistant defensive line coach under head coach

Rex Ryan Rex Ashley Ryan (born December 13, 1962) is an American former football coach and analyst. Ryan was formerly the head coach of the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL), and also held various coaching positions w ...

. Weaver previously played for Ryan for four years as a Raven.

Buffalo Bills

In January 2013, Weaver was hired by the

as their defensive line coach under head coach

Doug Marrone Douglas Charles Marrone (born July 25, 1964) is an American football coach and former offensive tackle. He is currently the offensive line coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played in the NFL for the Mia ...

Houston Texans

In 2016, Weaver was hired by the

as their defensive line coach under head coach Bill O'Brien. On January 20, 2020, Weaver was promoted to defensive coordinator and defensive line coach.

Baltimore Ravens

On January 22, 2021, Weaver was hired by the

as their defensive line coach and run game coordinator. In February 2022, he was promoted to assistant head coach. In January 2024, Weaver was interviewed for the head coach position of 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, as well as the

Washington Commanders 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

Miami Dolphins

On February 3, 2024, Weaver was hired by the

as their defensive coordinator.

Personal life

Weaver is the son of Ralph and Melania Weaver. Weaver and his wife Kristin have two sons. In 2010, Weaver was inducted into the Saratoga High Blue Streaks Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was inducted into the Capital Region Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Miami Dolphins profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weaver, Anthony 1980 births 21st-century American sportsmen American football defensive ends Baltimore Ravens coaches Baltimore Ravens players Buffalo Bills coaches Cleveland Browns coaches Coaches of American football from Texas Houston Texans coaches Houston Texans players Living people Miami Dolphins coaches NFL defensive coordinators New York Jets coaches North Texas Mean Green football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Players of American football from Killeen, Texas Sportspeople from Saratoga Springs, New York