Heath Charles Farwell (born December 31, 1981) is an

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 ...

coach and former

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

who is the

special teams coordinator In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

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 previously served as an assistant coach for the Buffalo Bills,

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

and Seattle Seahawks. Farwell played college football at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

and was signed by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

as an

undrafted 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 ...

in 2005. He played for 10 seasons in the NFL with the Vikings and Seattle Seahawks and was the special teams captain during his tenure with the Seahawks.

Early years

Farwell attended

Corona High School Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 dis ...

in Corona, California, and was a letterman in football, baseball, and track&field. As a junior, he had 96 tackles and 12 sacks en route to all-league honors. He recorded 129 tackles and 10 sacks as a senior, earning first-team all-Mountain View League as well as all-Riverside Press-Enterprise county all-star. In 2014, his football number was retired by Corona High School.

Playing career

College

Farwell played at

San Jose State San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

in 2000 before transferring to

. After sitting out the 2001 season due to NCAA transfer rules, Farwell debuted with the

San Diego State Aztecs The San Diego State Aztecs are the athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). San Diego State currently sponsors six men's and eleven women's sports at the varsity level. The Aztecs compete in NCAA Division I ( FBS for foo ...

in 2002 as a sophomore. He was ranked 5th on the team with 59 tackles, and his three quarterback sacks were 4th in the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations ...

among linebackers. During the season, he also recorded 10 tackles for loss, while having a season best eight tackles versus

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

. His four forced fumbles were tops in Mountain West. The following year, he started six games at outside linebacker and finished the season with 52 tackles and 3.5 quarterback sacks. He also recovered two fumbles on the season versus

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

and UCLA, and had a season high eight tackles versus

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. As a senior, he started all 11 games for the Aztecs and was third on the team with 69 total tackles. He also added a team best seven sacks, two interceptions and forced four fumbles. Farwell finished his career with 180 tackles, 13.5 sacks and nine forced fumbles in three seasons at San Diego State.

National Football League

Minnesota Vikings

Farwell was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2005 out of

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

. He was named the special teams MVP for the Vikings at the end of the

2006 NFL season The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League. Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006. The season began with the reigning Super Bowl XL champion Pittsburgh defeating the Miami in t ...

. In the team's preseason opener in 2008, Farwell suffered a torn ACL in his knee and was placed on season-ending injured reserve. Farwell received a $7.5 million contract over three years from the Vikings. He was voted as a NFC

2010 Pro Bowl The 2010 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2009 season. It took place at 8:00 PM EST on Sunday, January 31, 2010, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins and host sit ...

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

starter. On September 3, 2011, Farwell was waived by the Vikings. His release cleared $1.75 million in salary cap space for the Vikings.

Seattle Seahawks

Farwell signed with the Seattle Seahawks on October 19, 2011. On March 13, 2012, he was re-signed by the Seattle Seahawks. He served as a

captain for the Seahawks from

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

onward. Farwell and the Seahawks won

Super Bowl XLVIII Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...

after they defeated 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 ...

by a score of 43–8. The Seahawks placed Farwell on injured reserve on August 26, 2014.

Coaching career

Seattle Seahawks

On August 16, 2016, Farwell returned to the Seahawks, where he served as a two-time special teams captain in his four years in Seattle (2011–14), as a coaching assistant.

Carolina Panthers

In 2018, Farwell was hired by the

as their assistant special teams coordinator.

Buffalo Bills

In 2019, Farwell was hired by the Buffalo Bills as their special teams coordinator under head coach

Sean McDermott Sean Michael McDermott (born March 21, 1974) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He began his NFL coaching career as an assistant for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2001, ...

Jacksonville Jaguars

On February 17, 2022, Farwell was hired by the

as their special teams coordinator under head coach

Doug Pederson Douglas Irvin Pederson (born January 31, 1968) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Pederson spent most of his 13-season playing career ...

References

External links

Jacksonville Jaguars profileMinnesota Vikings profileSeattle Seahawks profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farwell 1981 births Living people American football linebackers Buffalo Bills coaches Carolina Panthers coaches Jacksonville Jaguars coaches Minnesota Vikings players National Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from California San Diego State Aztecs football players San Jose State Spartans football players Seattle Seahawks coaches Seattle Seahawks players