Ronald Eugene Cox (born February 2, 1968) 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 eight 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) 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 ...

and

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 ...

. He started as middle linebacker for the champion Packers in

Super Bowl XXXI Super Bowl XXXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

as they beat 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 ...

. In 2001, Cox was inducted into the Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame.

College career

As a senior, Cox was a finalist for the 1989

Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

, which was won by Percy Snow. Cox had 28 sacks that senior season. He was also an All-American and the

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...

Defensive MVP.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Cox was selected by the

in the second round (33rd overall) of the 1990 NFL draft. His rookie year, 1990, was his best year in terms of sacks, with three. After a dip in productivity in 1991, Cox saw a career year in 1992, with 56 tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery, and three games started. Recording his first interception in 1995, Cox left in free agency to go to the

. He returned to the team in 1997 but retired to spend time with his family.

Green Bay Packers

In the 1996 offseason, the

signed Cox to a three-year contract worth $3.9 million. He was pushed into the starting lineup for

after an injury to

George Koonce George Earl Koonce Jr. (born October 15, 1968) is an American athlete, athletic director and collegiate fundraiser. A former linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), he served as the athletic director at the University of Wisconsin–Mi ...

Coaching career

Cox serves as a defensive coach for Division III

Lake Forest College Lake Forest College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by a group of Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducatio ...

. He has turned down offers to be on the coaching staff from

Ron Rivera Ronald Eugene Rivera (born January 7, 1962) is an American football executive and former professional player and coach who is the general manager for the California Golden Bears. He played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as ...

of 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 ...

and Leslie Frazier 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 ...

Personal life

Cox graduated with a degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

. After retiring, he worked in the building industry. He and his wife Michelle have three kids, Kelsey, Caitlin, and Ron Jr., and they live in

Lake Forest, Illinois Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,367. The city is along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Ron 1968 births Living people Players of American football from Fresno, California American football linebackers Fresno State Bulldogs football players Chicago Bears players Green Bay Packers players