By John Turney
Hardy Nickerson was quite a good player, one we never hear much about anymore. He was super-solid in Pittsburgh and then when he got a chance for free agency (thank-you Reggie White et al) he signed with Tampa and helped them in their building of a super defense—making All-Pro that initial season in Tampa and also going to the first of five Pro Bowls.
Here are his career stats and honors—
Nickerson was Second-team on the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team, so, in addition, two his two First-team All-Pro seasons and his two Second-team All-Pro years, he had his share of honors and he racked up 1,525 tackles in his 225 games (200 starts).
After his NFL career he coached at high school, collegiate levels as well as being a linebacker coach for the Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and San Francisco 49ers.
Yeah, we'd say Hardy had a heckuva career, one worth remembering.
Loved Hardy when I was a kid but I am kind of shocked he didn’t have more stuffs.
ReplyDeleteAny idea why this is John?
I am in the minority but I felt he had a HOF career but may have been forgotten due to leaving TB in free agency for Jax ... We can only speculate how more productive he could have been staying with the Bucs.
ReplyDeleteThough he set the tone for that defense, two other players--Barber and Rice--will eventually join Sapp, Brooks and Lynch into the HOF ...
The Dragon!
ReplyDelete