Chase Wyatt Blackburn (born June 10, 1983) 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 special teams coordinator for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

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 played as a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

in the NFL. Blackburn 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

Akron Zips The Akron Zips are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, United States. The Zips compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division I, Division I level as a memb ...

. He was signed by 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. 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 2005. He won two

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

titles with the Giants, both against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

Early life

Blackburn attended Marysville High School in

Marysville, Ohio Marysville is a city in Union County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 25,571 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located approximately northwest of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, it is part of the Columbus met ...

, and was a

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

and basketball. In football, as a senior, he led his team to a 13–1 record and the 2001 Ohio High School Football Division II State Seminifinals. He finished with 320 career tackles.

College career

Blackburn was a three-year starter at the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

, playing both linebacker and defensive end. He started 34 of 45 games in which he played and finished his

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

career with 293 tackles (179 solo), 11 sacks, 38.5 tackles for losses and three interceptions. He started all 11 games as a senior and finished with 71 tackles (41 solo), 5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for losses playing the "bandit" – a hybrid between the linebacker and defensive end positions. He was named All-MAC linebacker as a junior.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Blackburn measured 6'3" and 245 pounds. At the Akron

Pro Day The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

, Blackburn ran a 4.69 40-yard dash.

New York Giants

Chase Blackburn at 2007 Giants training camp

An undrafted rookie for the

in 2005, Blackburn spent most of the season as a backup linebacker and special teamer. In Week 16, against 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

, he had a 31-yard interception return for a touchdown off of Mark Brunell in the 35–20 loss. He played in 15 games before going on injured reserve. In Super Bowl XLII, Blackburn had a costly penalty on a punt return as he was the extra man on the field on a 12-man-on-the-field penalty. After the play,

head coach Bill Belichick challenged the play that the Giants had 12 men on the field and won. The penalty resulted in a first down, but the Patriots did not score on that drive after a failed 4th down conversion. As a result, the Giants improved their field position by 20 yards, so the penalty actually benefited the team. The Giants went on to win the game 17–14. For 2010, he was elected as a team captain by his teammates, representing special teams. After the season, he became an

unrestricted 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 ...

. He was re-signed on November 29, 2011. In Week 13 in a game against 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

, Blackburn recorded an interception against

Aaron Rodgers Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears foo ...

in his own end. In the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLVI, Blackburn recorded an interception against Patriots quarterback

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...

, the lone turnover of the game. On the interception, he won a one-on-one matchup with Rob Gronkowski. He had six tackles in the 21–17 win.

Carolina Panthers

Blackburn agreed to a two-year contract with 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 ...

on March 27, 2013. Blackburn played a part in Carolina's defense in 2013, complementing Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly with 33 tackles and 2 stuffs in the regular season and playoffs. On March 10, 2015, Blackburn became a

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 ...

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Coaching career

Carolina Panthers

During the off season before the 2016 season, Blackburn was brought in as a special teams coaching intern. On August 14, 2016, Blackburn was promoted to the special teams assistant to special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey. After the firing of former head coach, Ron Rivera, Blackburn was retained by the Panthers' new head coach, Matt Rhule. After the 2021 regular season ended, Rhule fired Blackburn from his coaching staff in January 2022.

Tennessee Titans

In March 2022, the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

announced the hiring of Blackburn as an assistant special teams coach.

Los Angeles Rams

On February 21, 2023, Blackburn was hired as a special teams coordinator by the

Personal life

Blackburn and his wife Megan have three sons, Landyn, Bentley, and Wyatt. He graduated from the

with a degree in

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

. He lives in Weddington, North Carolina. Blackburn is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

References

External links

Los Angeles Rams coaching bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackburn, Chase 1983 births Living people Akron Zips football players American football linebackers Carolina Panthers players New York Giants players Players of American football from Dublin, Ohio People from Bellefontaine, Ohio Carolina Panthers coaches Tennessee Titans coaches Los Angeles Rams coaches Coaches of American football from Ohio NFL special teams coordinators