John Frank (born July 1, 1974) is a former

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. After playing

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

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 ...

, he was drafted by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

in the sixth round of the

2000 NFL Draft The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Thea ...

. He played for the Ottawa Renegades of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) in 2002, and for the

Arizona Rattlers The Arizona Rattlers are a professional indoor American football team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL) in 2005.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Frank was drafted by the

in the sixth round (178th overall) of the

. In mini-camp, he suffered a knee injury that prevented him from participating through June 2000. He signed a three-year, $900,000 contract with the team on July 11, 2000, that included a $63,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. On July 16, he reported to training camp with the rest of the Eagles' rookies, but did not show up to practice the next day. On July 18, he announced his retirement from football for personal reasons, and returned his signing bonus to the team. He was projected to see significant playing time with the Eagles at

in 2000 before his retirement. He told his mother a couple days later that he was considering a return to football. He spent the rest of the year working at an advertising agency and as a musician. After the 2000 season, Frank agreed to return to the Eagles and was reinstated to the roster on March 6, 2001. He also received his original signing bonus back for returning. During training camp, Eagles

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

Jim Johnson was asked about Frank's progress during the offseason, and he said "Just that he's here." Frank was waived during final roster cuts on September 2, 2001, but re-signed to the team's

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on September 4. He spent the entire 2001 season on the Eagles' practice squad. During an in-season practice, he was hit in the neck and a

magnetic resonance imaging Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio wave ...

examination found a

benign tumor A benign tumor is a mass of cells (tumor) that does not invade neighboring tissue or metastasize (spread throughout the body). Compared to malignant (cancerous) tumors, benign tumors generally have a slower growth rate. Benign tumors have re ...

in his throat that required surgery.

New York Jets

Frank signed with the

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

after the 2001 season, but was waived before training camp on May 7, 2002, due to a failed physical exam related to his throat surgery.

Ottawa Renegades

Frank signed with the Ottawa Renegades of the

in August 2002. He recorded a sack in his first professional game on September 22, 2002. He played in four games during the 2002 season.

New York Giants

Frank signed 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. ...

on May 7, 2003. He was waived during the first round of roster cuts on August 25, 2003.

Arena Football League

Frank was signed by the

of the

on December 27, 2004. He was waived on March 9, 2005. He was claimed off waivers by the Georgia Force on March 14, and the Rattlers re-acquired him through a trade for Justin Taplin on March 16. He was placed on the

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 ...

list by the Rattlers on April 1, 2005. He became a free agent following the season on September 14, 2005.

Coaching career

Frank was the co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach for Skyline High School in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

in 2005. He was hired as the defensive line and strength and conditioning coach for Dixie State College from 2006 to 2007. He was a defensive graduate assistant coach with the Utah Utes football team in 2009.

References

External links

John Frank Statistics on JustSportsStats.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frank, John 1974 births Living people Sportspeople from Salt Lake City Players of American football from Salt Lake City American football defensive ends Utah Utes football players Philadelphia Eagles players New York Jets players Ottawa Renegades players New York Giants players Arizona Rattlers players Georgia Force players Players of Canadian football from Salt Lake City Canadian football defensive linemen