Robert Zach Bronson (born January 28, 1974) is a cornerbacks coach at McNeese State and a former professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

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 ...

. He played professionally for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the 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 ...

his entire NFL career from 1997 to 2003.

Early life

Bronson was born in

Jasper, Texas Jasper is a Administrative divisions of Texas, city in and the county seat of Jasper County, Texas, Jasper County, Texas, United States. Its population was 6,884 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, down from 7,590 at the 2010 Un ...

, and graduated from Jasper High School (Jasper, Texas). He attended

McNeese State University McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. M ...

Professional career

Bronson went undrafted in the 1997 NFL draft, and subsequently signed with the

. During his rookie year, Bronson recorded 24 tackles and an interception. The following year, Bronson, splitting playing time with Tim McDonald at safety, led the team in interceptions with four. In 2001, Bronson set the record for the longest interception return in franchise history against 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 ...

, returning the pick 97 yards for a touchdown. He played professionally for eight seasons, but suffered a neck injury that hampered his performance and eventually led to his retirement. Bronson ended his career with 191 tackles, 19 interceptions (two returned for touchdowns) and 32 passes defended.

Coaching career

Bronson started coaching in 2007 as a graduate assistant for his alma mater, McNeese State. He then went on to be a head coach at two high schools, one in Houston and one in Beaumont, both in Texas. He went back to McNeese in 2016 and has served as an assistant coach and cornerbacks coach since then.

References

External links

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Pro-Football-Reference.Com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bronson, Zack Bronson, Zach Bronson, Zach Bronson, Zach Bronson, Zach Bronson, Zach McNeese Cowboys football players People from Jasper, Texas