Dedrick Allen Dodge (born June 14, 1967), 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 ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

. 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 ...

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

and in eight 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), from 1991 to 1998. He played in

Super Bowl XXIX Super Bowl XXIX was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion San Diego Chargers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-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 of the league's National ...

and in Super Bowl XXXII for 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 headquart ...

. He also played for the

London Monarchs The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football (WLAF). The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs. In 1999, they were r ...

in the inaugural season 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 ...

; London won the first World Bowl that year, meaning that Dodge has three pro football championship rings. Dodge played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

East Brunswick High School East Brunswick High School is a comprehensive public high school serving students in tenth through twelfth grades in East Brunswick Township, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of East Brunswick Public Schools. ...

East Brunswick, New Jersey East Brunswick is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The suburban bedroom community is part of the New York City metropolitan area and is located on the southern shore of the Raritan River, directly adjacent to the city ...

and Mulberry High School in

Mulberry, Florida Mulberry is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,817 at the 2010 census. Mulberry is home to Badcock Home Furniture. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area, with parts of unincorp ...

. Dodge spent two seasons as the head football coach at Mulberry Senior High School. According to ''

The Ledger ''The Ledger'' is a daily newspaper serving Lakeland, Florida, and the Polk County area. The paper was founded on August 22, 1924, as the ''Lakeland Evening Ledger''. In 1927, it bought its main competitor, the morning ''Lakeland Star-Telegram ...

'' of Lakeland, Dodge previously coached a year at Evangel Christian in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal c ...

, leading the team to an 11–3 record and a state title in 2005. He then coached a year at Victory Christian after Evangel folded and led the Storm to a 10–4 record with some of Evangel's former players. Victory finished state runner-up in 2005, losing to Tallahassee FAMU in the 1B state title game. Dodge has returned to his home in

Locust Grove, Georgia Locust Grove is a city in Henry County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,402 at the 2010 census, up from 2,322 in 2000. Some unincorporated communities such as Luella and many rural areas surround Locust Grove, and those communities ha ...

, about 30 miles south of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, where he maintained a home in Georgia since 2007 after he began coaching at

Fort Valley State University } Fort Valley State University (FVSU, formerly Fort Valley State College and Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School) is a public land-grant historically black university in Fort Valley, Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia and ...

as an assistant. Dodge previously coached in Polk County at Victory Christian, Mulberry and Evangel Christian, where he won a state title in 2005.

References

1967 births Living people American football safeties Denver Broncos players Florida State Seminoles football players London Monarchs players San Diego Chargers players San Francisco 49ers players Seattle Seahawks players High school football coaches in Florida East Brunswick High School alumni Mulberry High School (Mulberry, Florida) alumni People from East Brunswick, New Jersey People from Mulberry, Florida People from Neptune Township, New Jersey Sportspeople from Middlesex County, New Jersey Players of American football from Florida Players of American football from New Jersey African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople {{defensiveback-1960s-stub