Bernard Parmalee (born September 16, 1967) is an

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

coach and former

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

who is the

running backs coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, associate and assistant coach, and the Offensive coordinator, offensive a ...

for 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

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 as the running backs coach for 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

from 2021 to 2023 and also served as an assistant coach for

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

and

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 ...

. Parmalee played

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 ...

for the

Ball State Cardinals The Ball State Cardinals are the athletic teams that represent Ball State University, located in Muncie, Indiana. The Cardinals are part of the NCAA Division I Mid-American Conference. Charlie Cardinal is the team mascot. The Ball State Univer ...

, where he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001, and was signed by the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 1992. Playing for nine seasons in the NFL, Parmalee also played for 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 ...

Playing career

Parmalee played high school football at Lincoln High School in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

. Parmalee played in college at Ball State University, where he is the 3rd leading rusher all-time and was named MAC Freshman of the Year in 1987. Parmalee played running back for the

and the

from 1992 to 2000. Parmalee's professional opportunity came when he tried out for the

after working for UPS. He played seven seasons with the Dolphins (1992–98) in 104 games, scoring fifteen rushing touchdowns and three receiving touchdowns while rushing for 1,959 yards and amassing 1,306 receiving yards. In 1999, he went to the Jets and played two seasons in 30 games with two rushing touchdowns, 220 rushing yards, and 179 receiving yards.

Coaching career

Miami Dolphins

Parmalee coached both

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

and

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

s for the

from 2002 to 2004.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Parmalee coached both special teams and tight ends for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 2005 to 2009. Irish tight ends did well under Parmalee's tutelage having produced multiple

John Mackey Award The John Mackey Award is presented annually to college football's most outstanding tight end. Established in 2000 by the Nassau County Sports Commission, the award is given annually to the tight end who best exemplifies the play, sportsmanship, ac ...

finalists during his tenure ( Anthony Fasano and John Carlson).

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs announced him as their Tight Ends coach on February 1, 2010.

Oakland Raiders

He was hired by the Raiders as their new running backs coach on January 25, 2015. In Parmalee's first season in Oakland,

Latavius Murray Latavius Rashard Murray (born January 18, 1990) is an American professional American football, football running back. He played college football for the UCF Knights football, UCF Knights and was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the sixth round ...

made the Pro Bowl, running for 1066 yards — the team's first 1000-yard rusher in five years. In Parmalee's second season in Oakland, the Raiders had the league's 6th ranked rushing attack. As

Jon Gruden Jon David Gruden (born August 17, 1963) is an American football coach and media personality currently employed by Barstool Sports. After beginning his coaching career in the college ranks and working as a position coach and as an offensive co ...

took over as head coach of the Raiders after the 2017 season, Parmalee was ousted with most of the Raiders coaching staff.

Atlanta Falcons

In 2018, Parmalee was hired to be the running backs coach for the Falcons. He coached

Ito Smith Romarius "Ito" Smith (born September 11, 1995) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). Smith was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL draft, ...

in his first season where he tallied four rushing touchdowns, the most rushing touchdowns by a Falcons rookie since 2002. After working as an offensive assistant and assistant special teams coach to start the 2019 season, he returned to being the running backs coach on November 4. On October 12, 2020, Parmalee was shifted from running backs coach to special teams coordinator, as part of a midseason shakeup of the coaching staff.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On February 10, 2021, Parmalee was hired by the

as their running backs coach under head coach

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 ...

. On February 17, 2022, he was retained under new head coach

Doug Pederson Douglas Irvin Pederson (born January 31, 1968) is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who was the head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He spent most o ...

References

External links

Jacksonville Jaguars profile

Atlanta Falcons profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parmalee, Bernie 1967 births Living people African-American coaches of American football American football running backs Atlanta Falcons coaches Ball State Cardinals football players Ball State University alumni Jacksonville Jaguars coaches Kansas City Chiefs coaches Lincoln High School (New Jersey) alumni Miami Dolphins coaches Miami Dolphins players New York Jets players Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Oakland Raiders coaches Players of American football from Jersey City, New Jersey 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen Coaches of American football from New Jersey 20th-century American sportsmen