Michael Phillip Roan (born August 29, 1972) 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 ...

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 ...

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 is now a high school teacher, vineyard owner and former football coach.

Early life and college

A graduate and standout athlete at Iowa City High School, Roan played mostly on the defensive line and fullback during his high school days. He also was named to the Iowa 3A All-State Basketball Team in 1990. He was converted to the tight end position at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, and was a member of the 1994 Rose Bowl championship squad. A key contributor to the turnaround success of the Badgers under Barry Alvarez, Roan earned acclaim as a bookend tight end that was "big, strong and consistent." Roan earned All-Big Ten honors in both his junior and senior seasons, catching 34 passes for the Badgers in 1993.

Professional career

A fourth round selection in the

1995 NFL draft The 1995 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 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount ...

, Roan played all six seasons of his NFL career for the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise. Roan was on the Titans roster during their run in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

to the

AFC Championship The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the wo ...

. He caught three touchdown passes in his career, all of them during the 1999 season. He also recovered a fumble for a touchdown against 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

in a 23–14 win in Nashville in November 1998. Playing for the special teams shortly after Al Del Greco kicked a go-ahead field goal with three seconds left, Roan recovered the subsequent fumbled kickoff as time expired. Injuries began to pile up by the start of the 2000 season, as a recurring neck problem kept Roan out for all of the Titans' 1999 postseason run. It came to a head in the first week of 2000, when Roan's own teammate broke his leg in a blindside collision against Buffalo.

Personal life

After retiring from the NFL, Roan moved to Sonoma wine country in California and bought a vineyard in the

Russian River valley The Russian River ( Southern Pomo: ''Ashokawna'', ) is a southward-flowing river that drains of Sonoma and Mendocino counties in Northern California. With an annual average discharge of approximately 1,600,000 acre feet (2.0 km3), it i ...

. Known today as Roan Family, the vineyard's Pinot Noir grapes are sourced by Screen Door Cellars. Roan earned a master's degree from the University of San Francisco, as well as a teaching certificate. Starting his education career as a junior varsity coach, Roan eventually became the head varsity football coach at

El Molino High School El Molino High School was a public four-year comprehensive high school located at 7050 Covey Road in Forestville, California, United States. The campus was closed after the West Sonoma County Union High School District board made a decision to ...

in Forestville,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

until 2011 (when he brought his team to the playoffs). After the 2011 season, Roan passed the job onto J.V. coach Matt Transue. He currently serves as the physical education teacher and athletic director at Analy High School in

Sebastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important Port of Sevastopol, por ...

References

1972 births Living people Players of American football from Iowa City, Iowa American football tight ends Wisconsin Badgers football players Houston Oilers players Tennessee Oilers players Tennessee Titans players Iowa City High School alumni 20th-century American sportsmen {{tightend-1970s-stub