Dan Morgan (boxing manager)
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Daniel Thomas Morgan, Jr. (born December 19, 1978) is an American football executive and former linebacker. He now serves as the Assistant General Manager for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He was formerly the Director of Player Personnel for the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
and as the Director of Pro Personnel for the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
. Morgan played in the NFL for seven seasons and 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 Miami, where he was recognized as a unanimous All-American, and won multiple national awards. Morgan was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the first round of the
2001 NFL Draft The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...
, and he earned a Pro Bowl selection in
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
.


Early years

Morgan was born in Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania. He grew up playing football for the Clifton Heights Rams of the Bert Bell Football League near Philadelphia. After playing freshman football at Upper Darby High School in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, Morgan attended
J. P. Taravella High School J. P. Taravella High School is a secondary school located in Coral Springs, Florida which teaches grades 9–12. The school is a part of the Broward County Public Schools district. The school was named after Joseph Phillip Taravella (1919–1978), ...
in Coral Springs, Florida. As a
senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
, he was an all-county pick at tailback, linebacker, and
strong safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...
for the Taravella Trojans. As a junior tailback, he rushed for 1,322 yards and 13 touchdowns.


College career

Morgan attended the University of Miami and played for the
Miami Hurricanes football The Miami Hurricanes football team represents the University of Miami in college football. The Hurricanes compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Coastal Division of the Atlanti ...
team from 1997 to 2000. He began his college career playing as a fullback, but was switched to weakside linebacker one week before the season started. He became the first freshman linebacker to start for the Hurricanes since Ray Lewis in 1993. As a freshman, he was named second-team freshman All-American by the ''
Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
'' after posting 105 tackles, three sacks, and one forced
fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...
. As a sophomore, he became the first sophomore team captain in team history, and made the All- Big East Team, after leading the team with 150 tackles. He was a finalist for the Butkus Award and the
Nagurski Trophy The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been awarded annually since 1993 to the collegiate American football defensive player adjudged by the membership of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) to be the best in the National Collegiate Athle ...
as a junior, and was rewarded with a second-team All-Big East for collecting 139 tackles and 5 sacks. He finally captured both awards, as well as the Bednarik Award, becoming the first player in NCAA history to win all three awards in a career (and the same year). He was recognized as a first-team All- Big East selection, the Big East Defensive Player of the Year, and a unanimous first-team All-American in 2000. Upon graduating, Morgan held the Hurricanes' team and Big East conference records for most career tackles with 532. Morgan was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame at the 43rd Annual Induction Banquet in 2011.


Professional career


Carolina Panthers

Morgan was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the first round, with the 11th overall selection, in the
2001 NFL Draft The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...
. In the 2001 season, he started 11 games at weakside and strongside linebacker, posting 75 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception and 1 fumble recovery. In his second season, Morgan helped turn the Panthers from the worst defense in the
2001 NFL season The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL), and the first season of the 21st century. The league permanently moved the first week of the regular season to the weekend following Labor Day. In the wake o ...
to the second-ranked defense, becoming the first team to make such an improvement in one season. Morgan was also an integral part of the Panthers defense that led the team to
Super Bowl XXXVIII Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Carolina Panthers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) c ...
, where he posted an NFL Super Bowl record 18 tackles (11 solo, 7 assists). For the
2004 NFL season The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League. With New England as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005. Hurricanes forced the rescheduling o ...
, he collected 109 tackles, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and five sacks en route to being named the starting linebacker for the
NFC NFC may refer to: Psychology * Need for cognition, in psychology * Need for closure, social psychological term Sports * NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game * NCAA Football Championship (Philippines) * Nati ...
in the
2004 Pro Bowl The 2004 Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2003 season. The game was played on February 8, 2004, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The final score was NFC 55, AFC 52, the most points scored in a Pro Bowl game. Marc Bulger of the ...
. In the
2005 NFL season The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League. Regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006. The regular season also saw the first ever regular season game played outside the United ...
, he was second on the team in tackles, behind Marlon McCree. On November 6, 2007, Morgan was placed on
injured reserve 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 ...
by the Panthers due to an ankle injury. The Panthers eventually released him on February 11, 2008.


New Orleans Saints

Morgan was signed by the New Orleans Saints for the 2008 season. However, on May 19, 2008, Morgan announced his retirement from the NFL, citing the slow recovery of injuries, particularly a partially torn Achilles tendon suffered during the 2007 season. After sitting out the 2008 season, Morgan confirmed on January 26, 2009 that he had filed reinstatement papers with the NFL and expected to rejoin the New Orleans Saints; Morgan stated that he was completely healthy and ready to play. He was reinstated on February 12. Morgan worked out with the Saints through the off-season, but he strained his calf muscle during a minicamp practice on June 5, 2009. On June 8, Morgan's agent,
Drew Rosenhaus Drew Jordan Rosenhaus (born October 29, 1966) is an American sports agent who represents professional football players. He owns the Miami-based sports agency Rosenhaus Sports, and has negotiated over $7 billion of NFL contracts. Early life an ...
, announced that Morgan had informed the Saints that he would retire for the second time due to his continued injuries.


Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs


Executive career

In 2018, Morgan was hired by the
Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
as their director of player personnel. He was hired by the Carolina Panthers to be their assistant general manager on May 8, 2021.


References


External links


Miami Hurricanes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Dan 1978 births Living people All-American college football players American football linebackers College Football Hall of Fame inductees Carolina Panthers players J. P. Taravella High School alumni Miami Hurricanes football players National Conference Pro Bowl players New Orleans Saints players People from Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Coral Springs, Florida Players of American football from Broward County, Florida Players of American football from Delaware County, Pennsylvania Carolina Panthers executives Buffalo Bills scouts Seattle Seahawks scouts