Dewayne Neron Washington (born December 27, 1972) is an American former
football cornerback
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnove ...
in 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 for 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 expansio ...
, 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 Stee ...
, 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 the
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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The t ...
. He was a first-round pick (18th overall) in the
1994 NFL Draft
The 1994 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 1994, at the Marriott ...
from
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universi ...
. He is currently the head football coach at
Heritage High School in
Wake Forest, North Carolina
Wake Forest is a town in Franklin, Granville and Wake counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina; located almost entirely in Wake County, it lies just north of the state capital, Raleigh. At the 2020 census, the population was 47,601. That ...
.
Amateur years
Washington played
high school football
High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, partl ...
at
Northern High School in Durham, North Carolina, where he earned
All-American honors from ''
Sporting News
The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
'',
SuperPrep, and ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...
'' in 1989. After high school Washington attended North Carolina State, grabbing 3
interception
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 ...
s his junior year. As a senior, Washington led the team with 4 interceptions, and also recorded 66
tackles (51 solo) as a co-
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
.
Professional career
Minnesota Vikings
Dewayne Washington
started
"Started" is a song recorded by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea for her second studio album ''In My Defense''. The song was written by Azalea alongside Ronny Wright and produced by American record producer J. White Did It. It was released by Ba ...
all 16 games for 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 expansio ...
as a
rookie
A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year).
In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
in 1994. Washington recorded 75 tackles (69 solo), and had 3 interceptions for 135 yards and 2
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...
s as a rookie. Dewayne Washington was named defensive rookie of the year by ''
College and Pro Football Weekly'' and earned All-Rookie honors from ''
Pro Football Weekly
''Pro Football Weekly'' (sometimes shortened to ''PFW'') is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, and website that covers the National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football leagu ...
'' and
Pro Football Writers of America. The Vikings won the
NFC Central Division
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, but lost in the first round of the
1994 NFL playoffs.
In 1995, Washington played in 15 games, recording 62 total tackles (57 solo), and had 1 interception for 25 yards. Washington only missed 1 game in his career. For the next 10 NFL seasons, he did not miss a game. He played in a total of 191/192 possible regular season games during his 12-year career.
In 1996, Washington recorded 75 tackles (72 solo). He had 2 interceptions for 27 yards and a touchdown that year.
In 1997, he had 84 tackles (74 solo). He had 4 interceptions that year for 71 yards, but no touchdowns. Washington was a starter for a Vikings that entered the
1997 NFL playoffs as a
wildcard
Wild card most commonly refers to:
* Wild card (cards), a playing card that substitutes for any other card in card games
* Wild card (sports), a tournament or playoff place awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal pla ...
team,
upsetting 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 divisio ...
in the first round before falling to 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 the divisional playoffs.
Pittsburgh Steelers
On February 25, 1998, 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 Stee ...
signed Dewayne Washington as an
unrestricted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...
. 1998 proved to be Dewayne's best season in the NFL. In his first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington had 93 tackles (82 solo). He had 5 interceptions for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns that year. These would be the last interceptions Washington would return for touchdowns in his career.
In 1999, Washington had a career low of 52 tackles (50 solo). However, he did manage to record 4 interceptions.
In 2000, Washington had 78 tackles (70 solo). He matched his career high with 5 interceptions, returning them for 59 yards. On July 19, 2001, the Pittsburgh Steelers re-signed Dewayne Washington to a multi-year contract.
In 2001, he had 77 tackles, but only 1 interception for 15 yards. He helped Steelers win the
AFC Central
The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was adopted after the restructuring of the 2002 NFL ...
with a 13-3 record, advancing to the
AFC Conference Championship, where they were defeated by the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
.
In 2002, he had only 55 tackles, and a career low 45 solo tackles. Washington also had 3 interceptions for 51 yards. With a record of 10-5-1, the Steelers lost in the
divisional round of the playoffs.
In 2003 Washington began to show signs of aging. That year, he had only 60 tackles (53 solo). He had only 1 interception for the second consecutive year, returning it for only 7 yards. This would be the end of Washington's six-season career in Pittsburgh.
Jacksonville Jaguars
On February 27, 2004, the Pittsburgh Steelers officially cut Dewayne Washington, making him a
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...
eligible to sign with any team. On March 9, 2004, 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 ...
signed Dewayne Washington to be a
nickel back
In American football, a nickelback is a cornerback or safety who serves as the additional defensive back in a nickel defense. A base defense consists of two cornerbacks and two safeties, making the nickelback the fifth defensive back on the fiel ...
. In 2004, Washington had 2 interceptions and 76 Tackles.
Kansas City Chiefs
In
training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...
before the
2005 NFL season
The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.
Regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006. The regular season also saw the first ever regular season game played outside the United ...
, the
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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The t ...
signed Washington to a one year-contract. Washington's signing was considered less significant due to the possibility of signing
Ty Law before he signed with the
New York Jets. Dewayne played almost always on
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 ...
, recording 10 tackles, 9 being solo. Despite a 10-6 record that included 4,000 yards passing by
Trent Green
Trent Jason Green (born July 9, 1970) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for fifteen seasons. He played college football for Indiana University. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in ...
and 1,700 yards rushing by
Larry Johnson, the Chiefs failed to make the playoffs. For the first season in his career, Washington went without an interception and only started one game. In his career, Washington recorded 31 interceptions and recovered 7
fumble
A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...
s. He returned four interceptions and two fumbles for touchdowns. Washington has started all 8 playoff games he has appeared in.
NFL statistics
Coaching career
On May 11, 2015, Dewayne was introduced as the new head football coach at Heritage High School in Wake Forest, North Carolina making his head coaching debut on August 21, 2015 against
Green Hope High School.
Prior to accepting the head coaching job at Heritage, he served as an assistant coach at
Ravenscroft School in
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the South ...
.
His assistant coaches included former NFL wide receiver
Torry Holt and former NFL running back
Willie Parker.
In January 2018, he resigned from the position, wishing to spend more time focusing on his business and family.
Personal life
Since retiring from the NFL, Dewayne has been active within his community. He has participated in various real estate projects which have helped revitalize downtown Durham, NC and started Carolina Skills Academy, a year-round football skills academy available to kids in and around
The Triangle. He has also served on the Durham
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...
Board, NC State's Alumni Board and Board of Visitors, and Union Baptist Trustee Board, been involved with the
100 Black Men of America, and volunteered as a coach for
Pop Warner
Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his in ...
football. Currently, Dewayne lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with his wife, NC State graduate Adama Washington, and their three children.
References
External links
NFL Player DatabaseOfficial Webpage of the NFL
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Dewayne
1972 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Durham, North Carolina
Players of American football from North Carolina
American football cornerbacks
NC State Wolfpack football players
Minnesota Vikings players
Pittsburgh Steelers players
Jacksonville Jaguars players
Kansas City Chiefs players
People from Wake Forest, North Carolina