Allen Beverly Bennett II (born May 5, 1962) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
for the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
,
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
and
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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
. He also was a member of the
Jacksonville Bulls
The Jacksonville Bulls were a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They were members of the United States Football League (USFL) during its final two seasons, 1984 and 1985. They played their home games in the Gator ...
,
Chicago Bruisers
The Chicago Bruisers were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They were founded in 1987 as a charter member of the Arena Football League (AFL). They played their home games at Rosemont Horizon.
History Founding (1987) ...
,
Dallas Texans Dallas Texans may refer to:
American football
*Dallas Texans (NFL), 1952 team in the National Football League
*Dallas Texans (AFL), 1960–1962 team that is now the Kansas City Chiefs
* Dallas Texans (arena), 1990–1993 Arena Football League team ...
,
Sacramento Surge
The Sacramento Surge was a professional American football team that played in the World League of American Football (WLAF) in 1991 and 1992. The team played its first season at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, and the second season in Hornet Stadiu ...
,
San Antonio Riders
The San Antonio Riders were a professional American football team that played in the WLAF in 1991 and 1992. The team played at Alamo Stadium in San Antonio in 1991 and then were forced to move to Bobcat Stadium on the campus of Southwest Texas S ...
,
Orlando Predators
The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played its ...
,
San Jose SaberCats
The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...
and
Portland Forest Dragons
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
. He was a football coach in the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
(AFL),
AF2
The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...
, and
National Arena League
The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. It consists of teams based on the East Coast of the United States.
Teams' typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, while players are paid $ ...
(NAL). He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
.
Early years
Bennett attended
Peterson High School in
Sunnyvale, California
Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwest Santa Clara County in the U.S. state of California.
Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the nort ...
, where he was the starter at
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
. He was the
team captain
In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...
and a highly recruited player as a senior. In his high school career he set 18 school records and 9
Santa Clara Valley Athletic League
Santa Clara Valley Athletic League (SCVAL) is a high school athletic conference and part of the CIF Central Coast Section of the California Interscholastic Federation. Its 14+ member schools are in the northern part of the Santa Clara Valley. Each ...
records.
College career
Freshman season
Bennett accepted a football scholarship from
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
under then-head coach
Shirley "Red" Wilson and
offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...
Steve Spurrier
Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former American football, football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often ...
.
He was voted ACC "Rookie of the Year" and twice named the ACC "Offensive Player of the Week". His best individual game was against
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...
, setting three NCAA freshman records by completing 38 of 62 passes for 469 yards. He finished the season with 174 of 330 completions for 2,050 yards, 11 touchdowns and a school record 25 interceptions.
Sophomore season
In
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
, he injured his shoulder during the season opener, missing the next three games and he also had to overcome a challenge for the starting job from backup Ron Sally.
[ He punted against the University of South Carolina twice for an average of 41 yards. He came back against ]Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...
and completed 9 of 16 passes for 113 yards with one touchdown.
He had his best games against Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
(31 of 46 for 397 yards and 2 touchdowns) and Clemson University
Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...
(17 of 25 for 243 yards and one touchdown). In nine games, he completed 110 of 202 passes for 1,445 yards, with 7 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.
Junior season
In 1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
, he became the first player in the ACC in its 30 years history to pass for over 3,000 yards with 3,033, receiving ACC Player of the Year
Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award.
Association football
In association football, this award is he ...
and All-ACC honors. He set numerous records, including ACC career marks for most passing yards (6,528), most passes attempted (906), most passes completed (520), and most touchdown passes (38). He was named ''Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
s Offensive Player of the Week following the season finale against University of North Carolina
The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
while passing for 273 yards, completing 25 of 34 passes, with one touchdown and no interceptions.
In the 4th quarter against Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
, he completed an NCAA record 21 passes with three touchdowns. He threw at least one touchdown pass in every game. Bennett had a completion percentage of 63.1 and a passing efficiency rating of 142.5. In 11 games, he completed 236 of 374 attempts for 3,033 yards with 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Senior season
In 1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
, he completed 300 of 469 pass attempts for 3,086 yards with 17 touchdowns and one interception, averaging 280.54 yards per game.
Bennett completed his collegiate career as the top passer in the history of NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
Division I-A
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...
football, with the most passes attempted (1,375), most passes completed (820), and most yardage (9,614), surpassing marks set by John Elway
John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American professional football executive and former quarterback who is the president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL).
Elway played college f ...
and Jim McMahon
James Robert McMahon Jr. (born August 21, 1959) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, most notably with the Chicago Bears. McMahon played college football at BYU, where he wa ...
. He left with 7 NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
, 15 ACC
ACC most often refers to:
* Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US
*American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...
and 42 school records.[
In 2011, he was inducted into the ]Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was a member of the ACC Legends Class.
Professional career
Bennett was selected by the Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
in the 6th round (148th overall) of the 1984 NFL Draft
The 1984 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 May 1–2, 1984, at the Omni Park Cent ...
. On May 5, he instead chose to sign with the Jacksonville Bulls
The Jacksonville Bulls were a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They were members of the United States Football League (USFL) during its final two seasons, 1984 and 1985. They played their home games in the Gator ...
of the United States Football League
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
, who selected him in the 1984 territorial draft. He was a backup behind Robbie Mahfouz and Matt Robinson. He appeared in 2 games, completing 7 of 13 passes for 113 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. On February 7, 1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, he was released after the signing of Brian Sipe
Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world.
It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word meani ...
.
On February 26, 1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, he was signed by the Falcons to participate in their training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...
. He was waived on August 4. In 1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
, he signed as a free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
with the Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...
. He was cut on August 25.
After the NFLPA
The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director DeMa ...
strike was declared on the third week of the 1987 season, those contests were canceled (reducing the 16 game season to 15) and the NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
decided that the games would be played with replacement players. He was signed to be a part of the Dallas replacement team that was given the mock name "Rhinestone Cowboys" by the media on October 1. He was a backup quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
and didn't appear in any game. He was cut on October 7. On October 9, he was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
. He played in one game, completing 2 of 6 passes for 25 yards with one interception. He wasn't re-signed after the season.
In 1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
, he was signed by the Chicago Bruisers
The Chicago Bruisers were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They were founded in 1987 as a charter member of the Arena Football League (AFL). They played their home games at Rosemont Horizon.
History Founding (1987) ...
of the Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
after performing well at a tryout camp. Under head coach Perry Moss
Perry Lee Moss (August 4, 1926 – August 7, 2014) was an American football player, coach, and executive. Moss played tailback at the University of Tulsa and quarterback at Illinois during the 1940s. As a Tulsa tailback, he was on the Orange Bo ...
, he finished the season completing 172 of 323 passes for 2,304 yards with 49 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He was named First-team All-Arena team at QB and was also named the league's Most Valuable Player.[ On November 29, ]1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
, he was signed as a free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
by 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
to backup Jim Harbaugh
James Joseph Harbaugh (; born December 23, 1963) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current and 20th head football coach of the Michigan Wolverines. He played college football at Michigan from 1983 to 1986. He play ...
, after Jim McMahon
James Robert McMahon Jr. (born August 21, 1959) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, most notably with the Chicago Bears. McMahon played college football at BYU, where he wa ...
was placed on the injured reserve list
The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...
and Mike Tomczak
Michael John Tomczak (born October 23, 1962) is a former American football player. Tomczak played quarterback for several NFL teams from 1985 through 1999, including the Chicago Bears, the Green Bay Packers, the Cleveland Browns, and the Pittsb ...
was out with a separated shoulder. He was active for two games as a backup quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
. He wasn't re-signed after the season.
In 1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
, the Bruisers suspended operations. During the shortened season, he was the league's top-ranked passer, posting 69 of 127 completions for 808 yards with 14 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.
In 1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
, Bennett began the year with the Albany Firebirds. On May 14, he was traded to the Dallas Texans Dallas Texans may refer to:
American football
*Dallas Texans (NFL), 1952 team in the National Football League
*Dallas Texans (AFL), 1960–1962 team that is now the Kansas City Chiefs
* Dallas Texans (arena), 1990–1993 Arena Football League team ...
. He appeared in all 8 games where he led the team to the ArenaBowl IV
Arena Bowl '90 (or Arena Bowl IV) was the Arena Football League's fourth Arena Bowl. The game featured the #2 Dallas Texans against the #1 Detroit Drive. Both teams finished their seasons at 6-2, yet the Drive led in points for (326-299) and point ...
. During the season, he completed 115 of 220 attempts for 1,149 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. He was named second-team All-Arena.
In 1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
, he was selected by the Sacramento Surge
The Sacramento Surge was a professional American football team that played in the World League of American Football (WLAF) in 1991 and 1992. The team played its first season at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, and the second season in Hornet Stadiu ...
in the first round of the World League of American Football
NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...
draft. He was a backup behind Mike Elkins and was released on April 9. In April, he was signed by the San Antonio Riders
The San Antonio Riders were a professional American football team that played in the WLAF in 1991 and 1992. The team played at Alamo Stadium in San Antonio in 1991 and then were forced to move to Bobcat Stadium on the campus of Southwest Texas S ...
, where he was a backup behind Mike Johnson and Jason Garrett
Jason Calvin Garrett (born March 28, 1966) is a former American football player and coach and current broadcaster. He previously served as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys for the 2010s from 2010-2019. Garrett has also been offensive coordi ...
.
On June 5, 1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
, he was signed by the Dallas Texans Dallas Texans may refer to:
American football
*Dallas Texans (NFL), 1952 team in the National Football League
*Dallas Texans (AFL), 1960–1962 team that is now the Kansas City Chiefs
* Dallas Texans (arena), 1990–1993 Arena Football League team ...
of the Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
. On July 3, he was traded to the expansion Orlando Predators
The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played its ...
in exchange for defensive tackle
A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...
Keith Williams, reuniting with head coach Perry Moss
Perry Lee Moss (August 4, 1926 – August 7, 2014) was an American football player, coach, and executive. Moss played tailback at the University of Tulsa and quarterback at Illinois during the 1940s. As a Tulsa tailback, he was on the Orange Bo ...
. He replaced starter Reggie Collier
Reginald C. Collier (born May 14, 1961) is a former professional American football quarterback. Best known as a dynamic college football star, he had a short-lived professional career in both the United States Football League and National Footbal ...
, finishing the season with 42 of 81 passes for 540 yards with 6 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.[
In ]1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
, he completed 145 of 264 passes for 2,092 yards with 41 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The greatest feat of his career the "Miracle Minute", a historic comeback in a game against the Detroit Drive
The Massachusetts Marauders were a professional arena football team that was based in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were a member of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 1988 to 1994. The team was established in Detroit in 1988, as the Detroit D ...
on June 19. In that game, he threw two touchdown passes and two 2-point conversions in the final 49 seconds of the game, all to Barry Wagner
Barry Wagner (born November 24, 1967) is a retired American football player in the Arena Football League for the Orlando Predators, with whom he won his first ArenaBowl Championship, and the San Jose SaberCats, with whom he won two championships. ...
. Wagner then got a game-winning safety, completing a comeback from a 32-42 deficit to a 50-49 win. Bennett led the Predators to the ArenaBowl VI
ArenaBowl '92 (or ArenaBowl VI) was the Arena Football League's sixth Arena Bowl. The game featured the #2 Detroit Drive (8–2) against the #1 Orlando Predators (9–1). Earlier in the regular season, these two teams met with the Predators winning ...
, where they were beaten by the Drive.
In 1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
, he completed 180 of 340 yards for 2,515 yards with 50 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. In 1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
, he completed 166 of 245 passes for 2,211 yards with 45 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. In 1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
, he completed 91 of 149 passes for 1,111 yards with 20 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. For both the 1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
and 1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
season, Bennett was named first-team All-Arena. He would also lead the Predators to a total of three ArenaBowls, losing all three.
For the 1996 season, Bennett played for the San Jose SaberCats
The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...
, completing 26 of 55 passes for 376 yards with 4 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. In 1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
, he played for the Portland Forest Dragons
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
, completing 63 of 124 passes for 792 yards with 14 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He retired at the end of the year after suffering a neck injury.[
During his AFL playing career, he made five ArenaBowl appearances and was inducted into the ]Arena Football Hall of Fame
The Arena Football Hall of Fame is the official Hall of Fame of the Arena Football League (AFL). The inaugural class was announced in 1998 and the Hall was not formally organized until 2011. Prior to 2011, there were four classes: 1998–200 ...
on May 24, 2000. He also was inducted into the Predators Ring of Honor.
Coaching career
In 1998, he was signed as an assistant coach by the Milwaukee Mustangs. In December 1998, he was named an assistant coach at Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
. In three seasons as a head coach in the af2, Bennett has compiled a record of 36-18 (including playoffs). His win total is the third highest among active coaches and tenth best All-time. Bennett's coaching resume also includes stints as an assistant with the Florida Bobcats
The Florida Bobcats were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Sunrise, Florida. They were previously known as the Sacramento Attack and the Miami Hooters, and played in the AFL for a total of ten seasons, the last seven in West Palm Beach ...
(AFL, 2001), the Greensboro Prowlers
The Greensboro Prowlers were a professional arena football team based in Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of ...
(af2, 2000), and the Milwaukee Mustangs (AFL, 1998).
Bennett built and led the Florida Firecats
The Florida Firecats were a professional arena football team based in Estero, Florida. They played in the AF2, the Arena Football League's developmental league, from 2001 to 2009. They did not join the AFL following the leagues' reorganization in ...
of the af2 to two ArenaCup
The ArenaCup was the af2's championship game. For the league's first five years, it was held at the arena of the higher seeded team. However, the 2005 ArenaCup was the first to be played at a neutral site in Bossier City, Louisiana. The 2006 Ar ...
championship games during the 2002 and 2004 seasons, winning the 2004 ArenaCup championship. In 2005, he transformed the Manchester Wolves
The Manchester Wolves were a professional arena football team, based at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, which folded at the end of the 2009 season along with the rest of the league. They played in the East Division of the ...
from a 5-11 team in 2004 into the East Division champion in his first season. He guided the Wolves to a franchise-best 12-win season, finishing 12-5 overall. The team's season also included a 10-game win streak and a trip to the second round of the af2 playoffs.
Bennett was to be the head coach for the Orlando Fantasy
The Orlando Fantasy were a women's American football in the Lingerie Football League that began playing in the 2010–11 LFL season, 2010–11 season and based in Orlando, Florida.
Initially, former Orlando Predators' quarterback Ben Bennett wa ...
during the 2010 season, but he decided that it wasn't a job he was interested in.
In 2011, he was the offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...
of the Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
's New Orleans VooDoo
Louisiana Voodoo (french: Vaudou louisianais, es, Vudú de Luisiana), also known as New Orleans Voodoo, is an African diasporic religion which originated in Louisiana, now in the southern United States. It arose through a process of syncretis ...
, but he was dismissed three games into the season.[ In 2012, he was named ]offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...
of the Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
's Orlando Predators
The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played its ...
.
He was named the head coach of the re-launched Orlando Predators
The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played its ...
in the National Arena League
The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. It consists of teams based on the East Coast of the United States.
Teams' typical payroll budget is $600,000 per season, while players are paid $ ...
for the 2020 season. The 2020 season was cancelled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, but Bennett returned for the 2021 season where he led the team to 4–4 record and a playoff spot. He left the Predators after the season.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Ben
1962 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Sunnyvale, California
Players of American football from California
American football quarterbacks
Duke Blue Devils football players
Jacksonville Bulls players
Dallas Cowboys players
Cincinnati Bengals players
Chicago Bruisers players
Chicago Bears players
Dallas Texans (Arena) players
Sacramento Surge players
San Antonio Riders players
Orlando Predators players
San Jose SaberCats players
Portland Forest Dragons players
Milwaukee Mustangs (1994–2001) coaches
Duke Blue Devils football coaches
Florida Bobcats coaches
Florida Firecats coaches
Manchester Wolves coaches
Austin Wranglers coaches
New Orleans VooDoo coaches
Orlando Predators coaches
Af2 coaches
National Football League replacement players