Eric Palmer Kumerow ( Pyle; born April 17, 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 was 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 ...

for three seasons in 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

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

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

, and was selected in the first round of the 1988 NFL draft by 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 ...

. He did not perform as well as expected and was considered to be a draft bust. After three seasons with the Dolphins, Kumerow signed with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

, but tore his Achilles tendon before his fourth season started and subsequently retired.

Early life

Eric Kumerow was born on April 17, 1965, in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. His parents were NFL star

Palmer Pyle William Palmer Pyle Jr. (June 6, 1937 – September 30, 2021) was an American professional football guard who played in the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). He played a total of six seasons for the NFL's Ba ...

and Marie Accardo, daughter of Chicago Outfit boss Tony Accardo. After their divorce, Marie married Ernest Kumerow, a

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

player and later official of the Laborers' International Union of North America, whose surname Eric and his sister, Cheryl, took. At

Oak Park and River Forest High School Oak Park and River Forest High School (OPRF) is a public four-year high school located in Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. It is the only school in Oak Park and River Forest District 200. Founded in 1871, the current school building ope ...

, Kumerow played

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

, and was named a 1982 ''USA Today'' High School All-American for the defensive back position. He won numerous other awards in football and basketball, receiving ''The Tribune Athlete of the Month Award'' in December 1982, and being added to ''The Tribune All-State,'' the ''Associated Press'' and the ''United Press International All-State'' teams during the football season of 1982. In addition to football, Kumerow was a standout basketball player. His basketball coach, Bob Parker, said, "Eric's the best athlete I've ever coached."

College career

Kumerow played

for the

. He started his career as a quarterback, which he played in high school, but switched to defense after spending his first season "on the bench." When Kumerow went to Ohio State, he focused more on football and did not play basketball. In college, he played

, and was named Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the year in 1986. Kumerow played alongside future pro bowl linebacker Chris Spielman while at Ohio State. In 1986, when he won Defensive Lineman of the Year honors, he had 66 tackles (nine for a total loss of 62 yards), had an interception, and six passes defended. Kumerow's best game of the season came against the Iowa Hawkeyes, in which he had eight tackles, a sack, and a pass defended to earn Associated Press Lineman of the Week honors. He was named team captain in 1987 and was named First-team All Big Ten. Kumerow finished his college career with 23 sacks, which ranks sixth among all Ohio State players. He was 6-7 and 250 pounds during his college career. He was also an Honorable Mention All-American in his senior year.

Professional career

In the 1988 NFL draft, Kumerow was selected in the first round by the

with the 16th overall pick. It was one year after they drafted his brother-in-law John Bosa with the same pick. His drafting received negative response from Dolphins fans because he was predicted to be drafted much later in the draft. According to some sources, the pick even surprised Kumerow.

Miami Dolphins

Kumerow was switched from linebacker to defensive end in his second week of training camp. His first game was played against the

, a team he would later play for. In his first season, Kumerow played 14 games, had 13 tackles and three sacks. He played 12 games in 1989 and all 16 in 1990. Kumerow had two sacks in 1989 but none in 1990. He had his only career interception in 1990, which he returned for five yards. Kumerow did not start in any games in a Dolphins uniform.

Chicago Bears

In 1991, Kumerow was signed by the

, who originally wanted to draft him. He later tore his Achilles tendon and retired afterwards. Kumerow finished his career with 42 games played and five sacks.

Personal life

Kumerow is married to his wife Tammi, with whom he has four children, including his son

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. Other NFL players related to Kumerow are his uncle Mike Pyle, his brother-in-law John Bosa, and Bosa's sons,

Joey Joey may refer to: People *Joey (name) Animals * Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial * Joey, a blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets Film and television * ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...

and Nick Bosa. , Kumerow lived in the Chicago suburb of Bartlett, Illinois.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumerow, Eric 1965 births Living people Players of American football from Chicago American football linebackers Ohio State Buckeyes football players Miami Dolphins players People from Bartlett, Illinois