Darrien Jamal Gordon (born November 14, 1970) is a former professional
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 wi ...
player who played
cornerback
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...
for 10 seasons 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 ...
(NFL) (1993–2002). During his NFL career, he played for 5 different teams and in 4
Super Bowls. Before his NFL career, Gordon played for
Stanford University, where he intercepted 9 passes in three seasons. Since the
NFL Scouting Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foo ...
began in 1985, he is one of three players who have been drafted in the
first round after not being invited to the combine.
[ ]
Gordon spent his first 4 years in the NFL with the
San Diego Chargers, assisting the team to a championship appearance in
Super Bowl XXIX. He started all 16 games in each season with the Chargers, and excelled both on defense and as a punt returner on special teams. His best season with San Diego was in their Super Bowl year of 1994, when he recorded 4 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries on defense, while gaining 475 yards on punt returns and scoring 2 punt return touchdowns, the most by any player that season.
In 1997, Gordon joined the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
and had another superb season, recording 4 interceptions for 64 return yards and a touchdown, while recovering 4 fumbles. He also had a great year as a punt returner, gaining a career-high 543 yards and scoring a league leading 3 touchdowns. His team finished the season with a 12–4 record and made it to
Super Bowl XXXII, where Gordon won his first championship ring. In the following season, the Broncos recorded a 14–2 record and made it back to the Super Bowl again. Gordon's performance in
Super Bowl XXXIII
Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos (who were also defending their Super Bowl XXXII championship) and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Atlan ...
was a key factor in Denver's 34–19 win over the
Atlanta Falcons. He intercepted 2 passes from Falcons quarterback
Chris Chandler in the end zone during the fourth quarter and returned them for a total of 108 yards, setting up 2 Broncos touchdowns that put the game out of reach. His 108 interception return yards were a Super Bowl record. He also was a big factor in Denver's win over the
New York Jets in the AFC title game that year, intercepting two passes from
Vinny Testaverde
Vincent Frank Testaverde Sr. (; born November 13, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He played college football at Miami, where he was an All-American and won the H ...
and returning a punt 36 yards to set up a
Terrell Davis
Terrell Lamar Davis (born October 28, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2001. He is the Broncos all-time leading rusher and ...
touchdown.
's NFL off-season, Darrien Gordon held at least 16 Broncos franchise records, including:
* Punt Returns: playoff season (7 in 1998), playoff game (5 on 1999-01-17 NYJ)
* Punt Ret Yds: game (168 on 1997-11-09 CAR), playoffs (162), playoff season (93 in 1998)
* Yds/PR: career (12.46), game (33.6 on 1997-11-09 CAR), playoffs (14.73), playoff season (13.29 in 1998)
* Punt Ret TDs: game (2 on 1997-11-09 CAR; with
Rick Upchurch
Richard Upchurch (born May 20, 1952) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the Denver Broncos (1975–1983) of the National Football League (NFL). Before his NFL career, he attended Springfield High Sc ...
)
* Interceptions: playoffs (5), playoff season (4 in 1998), playoff game (2 on 1999-01-17 NYJ and 1999-01-31 N-ATL; shared with 2 others)
* Int Ret Yds: playoffs (156), playoff season (156 in 1998), playoff game (108 on 1999-01-31 N-ATL)
Gordon spent the next 2 seasons with the
Oakland Raiders, and then 1 year with the Falcons in 2001. His final season in 2002 was spent with the Raiders, where he made his fourth championship appearance in
Super Bowl XXXVII. He retired after the Raiders 48–21 loss to
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
in the game.
In his 10 NFL seasons, Gordon recorded 335 tackles, 5 sacks, 19 interceptions (which he returned for 330 yards), 40 pass deflections, 4 forced fumbles, and 7 fumble recoveries on defense (returning them for 127 yards). On special teams, he recovered 10 fumbles, returned 314 punts for 3,601 yards, and gained 70 yards on 5 kickoff returns. At the time of his retirement, his 3,601 punt return yards were the 3rd most in NFL history.
Overall, Gordon gained 4,128 total non-offensive yards and scored 9 non-offensive touchdowns (2 interception returns, 1 fumble return, and 6 punt returns).
Gordon was born to James and Goldia Gordon. He graduated from Shawnee High School in 1989 where he was an All-State football player and two-time state champion wrestler as well as an honor student.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Darrien
1970 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Shawnee, Oklahoma
American football cornerbacks
American football return specialists
Stanford Cardinal football players
Oakland Raiders players
Denver Broncos players
San Diego Chargers players
Green Bay Packers players
Atlanta Falcons players
Shawnee High School (Oklahoma) alumni