Charles Christopher Spielman (born October 11, 1965) is an American former 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 ...

player who is a special assistant to the owner and CEO for 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) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

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

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 ...

for the Ohio State Buckeyes, twice earning

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors. He played professional football for the Detroit Lions in the NFL, where he was a three-time

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

. He also played for 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 ...

and

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 ...

, and coached for the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL)'s Columbus Destroyers. He was a broadcaster for

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...

and

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

from 1999 to 2020.

Football career

In 1984, Spielman graduated from Washington High School in

Massillon, Ohio Massillon is a city in western Stark County, Ohio, United States, along the Tuscarawas River. The population was 32,146 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Massillon is a principal city of the Canton–Massillon metropolitan area, whic ...

, where he was awarded the Dial Award for the national high-school scholar-athlete of the year in 1983. He was the first high school athlete to have his picture on a box of

Wheaties Wheaties is an American brand of breakfast cereal that is made by General Mills. It is well known for featuring list of athletes on Wheaties boxes, prominent athletes on its packages and has become a cultural icon in the United States. Originall ...

. For college, Spielman initially wanted to attend the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, but his father, a lifelong fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes (Michigan's arch-rival), strongly opposed the idea. Spielman recounted the story in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

Documentary "Michigan vs. Ohio State: The Rivalry":

My dad said, "Okay, where are you going to go?" I said, "Dad, I want to go to
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
." And he said, "You ''traitor''. I'll tell you where you're going. You're going right down 71 South and you're going to play for the Ohio State Buckeyes... Better not go there ichigan Don't ever come home if you do."

Spielman was a three-time All-American at Ohio State, intercepted 11 passes, and won the Lombardi Award as the best college football lineman or linebacker. He was the Ohio State football team MVP his senior year and won the Touchdown Club of Columbus's Chic Harley Award. He graduated from Ohio State with a degree in recreation education. In the 1988 NFL draft, Spielman was drafted in the second round with the 29th overall pick by the

. Spielman played eight seasons with the Lions (1988–95), where he was a defensive stalwart during the team's run to four playoff appearances, two NFC Central titles, and a berth in the 1991 NFC Championship Game. He captained the Lions' defense that was one of the best statistically in the NFL in the mid-1990s. Spielman is the franchise's all-time leader in career tackles with 1,138 (since the team began recording tackles statistically in 1973.) He also recorded 10 sacks, four interceptions, 30 pass defenses, 13 forced fumbles and 17 fumble recoveries during his Lions' career. He was the first Lion to lead the team in tackles seven consecutive seasons since 1973, including the team's highest single-season tally 195 tackles in 1994. Spielman represented the Lions in four Pro Bowls (1990–92, 1995) and was named the team's defensive MVP in 1993 and 1994. He played for the

in 1996 and 1997. His 1997 season was limited because of a neck injury that required spinal surgery. He chose to miss the 1998 season to assist his wife battling cancer. He returned to the NFL in the 1999 season, with the

. He retired before the regular season began, after suffering another neck injury. Spielman is also notable for being one of the players notable

NFL draft 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 ...

"guru" Mel Kiper, Jr. has "missed" on, Kiper admitting in a 2001 post that he had underrated the linebacker. In April 2009 Spielman was elected into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

. His induction came in July 2010. In 2012, he appeared in an episode of the

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League NTP and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and N ...

show '' A Football Life''. The episode celebrated his prowess on the field as well as his dedication to his family. On October 21, 2021, the Detroit Lions announced they were inducting Spielman into their "Pride of the Lions" club, which honors the greatest players in their history.

Broadcasting career

Spielman's broadcasting career started in 1999, as an NFL studio-show analyst for

Fox Sports Net Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by the Walt Disney Company on Mar ...

. After two years with FSN, Spielman joined

in 2001. He served primarily as a color analyst for college football broadcasts, as well as studio analyst for college football. Spielman is also a contributor to the Columbus-based FM radio station 97.1 The Fan, an

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...

affiliate. He previously hosted the show ''Spielman on Sports''. Spielman used to appear every Tuesday afternoon on AM 1270 WXYT, a sports-talk radio station out of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. Spielman has served as a color analyst for the

during the NFL preseason. In 2006, Spielman hosted a reality series on

ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remain ...

called '' Summer House''. Chris Spielman Kuwait

In 2016,

announced that Spielman had joined Fox NFL coverage as a game analyst alongside veteran play-by-play announcer Dick Stockton and sideline reporter Kristina Pink. On select weeks, he also teamed up with Thom Brennaman and Charles Davis in a three-man booth.

Coaching career

After the 2000 season, Spielman interviewed for the vacant Ohio State head coaching position previously held by John Cooper; however, the job eventually went to Jim Tressel. In 2005, Spielman coached the Columbus Destroyers of the

to a 2–14 record.

Executive career

Spielman was hired by the

as special assistant to chairman and president & CEO on December 15, 2020.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Personal life

Spielman and his first wife Stefanie had four children. Stefanie survived four bouts with

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

, during which both she and her husband were active in raising funds for breast cancer research. While undergoing treatment, she lost her hair, prompting Spielman to shave his head in a show of solidarity. Stefanie died on November 19, 2009, after the disease returned for the fifth time. In 2013, Spielman married Carrie Yocom, and adopted her two daughters. The family resides in Upper Arlington, a suburb of

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

. His elder brother is Rick Spielman, former general manager of the

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

. His son Noah played football for Wheaton College,Noah Spielman Bio - Wheaton Football
/ref> while his nephew J.D. currently plays football for TCU. His daughter Macy will be playing basketball in 2021-22 for Ashland University.

References

15. https://goashlandeagles.com/news/2021/6/8/womens-basketball-womens-basketball-adds-former-bg-guard-spielman-to-roster.aspx

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spielman, Chris 1965 births Living people All-American college football players American football linebackers Buffalo Bills players Cleveland Browns players College football announcers College Football Hall of Fame inductees Columbus Destroyers coaches Detroit Lions announcers Detroit Lions players National Conference Pro Bowl players NFL announcers Ohio State Buckeyes football players Players of American football from Canton, Ohio