David Michael Diehl (; born September 15, 1980) 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 ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

who played his entire career with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

of 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). He was the Giants starting left tackle on two Super Bowl championship teams, beating the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

in both games. 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 ...

for the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

. The Giants selected him in the fifth round of the

2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

Early life

Diehl was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, on September 15, 1980. He is of Croatian descent on his mother's side, and of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

descent on his father's side. When he was younger Diehl and his family frequently visited local Croatian churches and clubs in Chicago. He strengthened his

Croatian-American Croatian Americans or Croat Americans ( hr, Američki Hrvati) are Americans who have full or partial Croatian ancestry. In 2012, there were 414,714 American citizens of Croat or Croatian descent living in the United States as per revised 2010 Un ...

ties after he moved to New Jersey, where the local Croatian community often have him as a visitor. He has the Croatian coat of arms as well as "neuništiv", the Croatian word for indestructible, tattooed on his left arm.

High school career

Diehl attended Catholic schools, including St. Linus Grammar School in

Oak Lawn, Illinois Oak Lawn is a Village (Illinois), village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 58,362 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Oak Lawn is a suburb of Chicago, located southwest of the city. It ...

, and Brother Rice High School in Chicago, where he starred on the football, wrestling, and track teams.

College career

Diehl attended the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universit ...

, where he played for the

Illinois Fighting Illini football The Illinois Fighting Illini football program represents the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) level. The Fighting Illini are a founding member of ...

team. He became a second-team All-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

selection as a senior in 2002. Recipient of the Wright Commitment to Excellence Award, presented to the Illinois player who has dedicated himself to academic excellence despite obstacles faced during his collegiate career. Started every game at left offensive guard, registering 91 knockdowns for an offense that featured its first 1,000-yard rusher (Antoineo Harris) and 1,000-yard receiver (

Brandon Lloyd Brandon Matthew Lloyd (born July 5, 1981) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Illinois, and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth r ...

) in the same season since 1984. Helped offense total 5,356 yards. In 2001, saw action at both guard and tackle. Registered 56 knockdowns as he participated in 385 plays for an offense that gained 5,041 yards as the line allowed only 16 quarterback sacks (second in the Big Ten). In 2000, was valuable reserve, seeing action in every game at right guard. Made 15 knockdowns as he participated in 43 plays. In 1999: Played in 6 games on the field goal and extra point protection units. He was redshirted as a freshman in 1998.

Professional career

2003 NFL Draft

New York Giants (2003–2013)

Diehl was drafted by the Giants in the fifth round of the

with the 160th overall selection. In his rookie season, Diehl started all 16 games, becoming the first Giants rookie to do so since

Mark Bavaro Mark Anthony Bavaro (born April 28, 1963) is a former American football tight end who played for the New York Giants (1985–1990), Cleveland Browns (1992), and Philadelphia Eagles (1993–1994) in the National Football League (NFL). Bavaro was ...

in 1985. He was one of 14 NFL rookies to start all 16 games in 2003 and was the only rookie to start at the same position each game during the 2003 season. In 2005, Diehl played another position, starting 15 regular season games at left guard and 1 game at right tackle. That season,

Tiki Barber Atiim Kiambu "Tiki" Barber (; born April 7, 1975) is an American former football running back who played for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons. He played college football for the University of Virginia ...

rushed for a franchise-record 1,860 yards, and

Eli Manning Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning football dynasty, he is the youngest son o ...

passed for 3,762 yards, the 5th-highest total in franchise history. The Giants signed Diehl to a six-year, $31 million contract in May 2008. At the end of the 2009 season, Diehl was elected to the 2010 Pro Bowl as a Super Bowl Participant replacement. Diehl moved from left tackle to right tackle following the release of

Rich Seubert Richard Thomas Seubert (; born March 30, 1979) is a former American football guard who played his entire career with the New York Giants of the National Football League. High school career Born in Stratford, Wisconsin, Seubert attended Columbus ...

and

Shaun O'Hara Shaun O'Hara (born June 23, 1977) is a former American football center who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. He played college football for Rutgers University. He began his professional career by signing as an un ...

and the signing of

David Baas David Andrew Baas (born September 28, 1981) is a former American football center. He played college football for the University of Michigan, and was recognized as a consensus All-American and the top college center. The San Francisco 49ers se ...

. He had started every game of his NFL career until 2010, when he tore his hamstring and suffered a partially dislocated hip. At the end of the 2011 season, Diehl and the Giants appeared in

Super Bowl XLVI Super Bowl XLVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

. He started in the game as the Giants defeated the

by a score of 21–17. On August 21, 2013, the New York Giants announced that Diehl will undergo surgery to repair his injured right thumb. The recovery time was expected to be approximately six weeks. On January 24, 2014, Diehl announced his retirement after 11 seasons.

Broadcasting

On August 6, 2014, it was announced Diehl had been hired to work as a

color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and the ...

for NFL games on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

. He teamed with

Thom Brennaman Thomas Wade Brennaman (born September 12, 1963) is an American television sportscaster. He is the son of former Cincinnati Reds radio sportscaster Marty Brennaman. Broadcasting career After graduating in 1982 from Cincinnati's Anderson High Sc ...

as the number #4 team on these telecasts for 2014. During the 2015 season, Diehl worked fewer regular season games because former lead college football on Fox analyst Charles Davis took his place alongside Brennaman. (It was supposed to be

Donovan McNabb Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. Before his NFL career, he played football and b ...

, but he was arrested for a DUI in July 2015, leading Fox to make this change.

Joel Klatt Joel Klatt (born February 4, 1982) is a college football color commentator and analyst for Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports. Klatt played college football for the University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Colorado (CU) Colorado Buffalo ...

replaced Davis on college football telecasts with Davis's former partner, Gus Johnson). Diehl would move two spots down to the number #6 team to team with

Dick Stockton Richard Edward Stokvis (born November 22, 1942), known professionally as Dick Stockton, is an American retired sportscaster. Stockton began his career in Philadelphia, then moved to Pittsburgh, where he worked as the sports director for KDKA-TV ...

and replacing Stockton's former partners

Brady Quinn Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn (born October 27, 1984) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at Notre Dame, where he won the Maxwell Award, and w ...

, Kirk Morrison, and McNabb. For the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Diehl moved down to the #7 crew, where he was teamed with Sam Rosen. In 2017, Diehl joined CBS Sports Network as an college football analyst.

Coaching career

Memphis Tigers

In May of 2022, Diehl announced that he would be joining the coaching staff at

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, working for head coach

Ryan Silverfield Ryan Daniel Silverfield (born August 4, 1980) is an American football coach who is the head football coach at the University of Memphis. Silverfield has spent most of his coaching career, which began during his senior year of high school, as eithe ...

as an offensive analyst. This is Diehl's first collegiate coaching position.

Personal life

Diehl is of mixed

and Croatian descent. His

Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...

origins are from his maternal grandparents. His grandmother, Lucija Semanic (born Lucia Šamanić) was born in the USA to parents from

Krk Krk (; it, Veglia; ruo, Krk; dlm, label= Vegliot Dalmatian, Vikla; la, Curicta; grc-gre, Κύρικον, Kyrikon) is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of Primorje-Gorski Kot ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, while his grandfather, Ante Bekavac, emigrated to United States from Lovreć. He has a tattoo of the

Croatian coat of arms The coat of arms of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Grb Republike Hrvatske) consists of one main shield and five smaller shields which form a crown over the main shield. The main coat of arms is a checkerboard ( chequy) that consists of 13 red and ...

on his left arm. Diehl stated his favorite tattoo is his Croatian coat of arms. He visited Croatia in June and July 2011, in search of his roots. Diehl played at the University of Illinois, and is a fan of the university's former symbol,

Chief Illiniwek Chief Illiniwek was the mascot of the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign (UIUC), associated with the university's intercollegiate athletic programs, from October 30, 1926, to February 21, 2007. Chief Illiniwek was portrayed by a student t ...

. During player introductions on TV, he states his school as "University of Chief Illiniwek." He also has an image of Chief Illiniwek tattooed on his arm. Diehl received the Wellington Mara NFL Man of the Year Award May 22, 2012, at the annual Boys Hope Girls Hope Dinner. On the morning of June 11, 2012, Diehl was arrested for suspicion of drunk driving after hitting several parked cars. Diehl was purportedly watching a Croatian soccer game with friends at a bar in Astoria, Queens, NY.

References

External links

New York Giants bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diehl, David 1980 births Living people American football offensive linemen American people of Croatian descent American people of German descent Illinois Fighting Illini football players National Conference Pro Bowl players National Football League announcers College football announcers New York Giants players Players of American football from Chicago Sportspeople from Chicago Sportspeople from Passaic County, New Jersey