Lawrence Edward Foote, Jr. (born June 12, 1980) 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 with ...
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, p ...
who is the
co-defensive coordinator for the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
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). Foote previously served as the linebackers coach for the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
from 2015 to 2018. 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 ...
at
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
and was drafted by the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
in the fourth round of the
2002 NFL Draft
The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually sinc ...
.
Foote has also played briefly for the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
and
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
. He earned two
Super Bowl ring
The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the team members of the winning team of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl. Since only one Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the team (ownership) itsel ...
s with the Steelers in
Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion f ...
and
Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...
.
College career
Foote 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 ...
at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
where he started 28-of-48 games recording 212 tackles (145 solo) and 11 sacks for minus-91 yards and 53 stops for losses of 155 yards. He ranked fourth in school history in stops behind the line of scrimmage.
Foote was an All-Big Ten Conference first-team choice by the league's coaches as a junior in 2000, earned second-team honors from the media, he played in every game during his freshman and sophomore season. He majored in physical education in the division of kinesiology.
As a senior in 2001, Foote as a first-team All-American selection by Football News and a second-team selection by The Sporting News as a senior and was a consensus All-Big Ten Conference first-team honoree and Defensive Player of the Year, he received the 2001
Roger Zatkoff
Roger Zatkoff (March 25, 1931 – November 4, 2021) was an American professional football player and businessman.
A native of Hamtramck, Michigan, Zatkoff played college football for the Michigan Wolverines from 1950 to 1952 and was selected ...
Award, given to the team's top linebacker.
On October 27, playing for the
2001 Wolverines against
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
, Foote set a school record with 7 tackles for a loss. The record stood until November 4, 2017 when
Khaleke Hudson
Khaleke Hudson (born December 6, 1997) is an American football linebacker for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan and was drafted by Washington in the fifth round of the 2020 N ...
posted 8 against
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
in the
Little Brown Jug rivalry game.
Professional career
Pittsburgh Steelers
Foote was selected by the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
in the fourth round (128th overall) in the
2002 NFL Draft
The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually sinc ...
. In his rookie year, he played in 14 games recording 20 tackles. The following year, saw him play more of a role on special teams but he finished the season with six tackles. In 2004, Foote had a very solid year for the Steelers registering 69 tackles, three sacks and his first career interception. He had a breakout year in 2005. He started all 16 regular season games for the Steelers, recording 102 tackles and three
quarterback sack
In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in th ...
s. Foote also had a key interception of
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 ...
quarterback
Jake Plummer
Jason Steven "Jake" Plummer (born December 19, 1974) is a former professional American football player, a quarterback for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 1997 ...
during the 2005
AFC Championship Game. The Broncos, trailing in the game, returned a Steelers kick to midfield which threatened to shift the momentum away from the Steelers. However, on the next play from scrimmage, Foote intercepted Plummer's pass and effectively ended the Broncos rally. Foote and the Steelers won
Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion f ...
two weeks later. The 2006 season was another good one for Foote as he finished with 90 tackles, a career-high four sacks and one interception. In the 2007 season, he made 81 tackles, three sacks and one interception.
Foote was released by Pittsburgh on May 4, 2009, ending a seven-year career with the Steelers that included two Super Bowl titles. Foote had requested the release due to his diminishing playing time with the team after they
drafted Lawrence Timmons
Lawrence Olajuwon Timmons (born May 14, 1986) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He would go on to win Super Bowl XLIII with the Steelers the following ...
in
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
.
Detroit Lions
Foote signed a one-year deal with his hometown
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
on May 6, 2009. He wore number 55, since the number 50, the number he wore in Pittsburgh, was worn by linebacker
Ernie Sims
Ernie Sims III (born December 23, 1984) is a former American football linebacker and current coach. He played college football at Florida State and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He also played for ...
.
Pittsburgh Steelers (Second stint)
On March 15, 2010, Foote signed a 3-year, $9.3 million contract to return to the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
.
On March 12, 2013, Foote signed another 3-year contract to remain with the Steelers.
On March 5, 2014, Foote was released by the Steelers.
Arizona Cardinals
![Larry Foote Cardinals](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Larry_Foote_Cardinals.jpg)
On May 6, 2014, Foote signed with the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
. The team released him as a procedural move so he could begin his duties as assistant linebackers coach and he officially retired from football prior to the 2015 NFL regular season.
Coaching career
Arizona Cardinals
On February 19, 2015, Foote was hired as assistant linebackers coach by the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
. He was promoted to linebackers coach in 2016.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
On January 12, 2019, Foote agreed to terms with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
to become their outside linebackers coach, rejoining the staff of
Bruce Arians
Bruce Charles Arians (born October 3, 1952) is an American football executive and former coach in the National Football League (NFL). Since 2022, he has been a senior football consultant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Arians was previously the he ...
. Following the 2021 season, Foote was to be shifting roles to coaching the inside linebackers, but following Arians' resignation and the promotion of defensive coordinator
Todd Bowles
Todd Robert Bowles (born November 18, 1963) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach of the New York Jets. He ...
to head coach, Foote was named co-defensive coordinator of the Buccaneers, along with
Kacy Rodgers.
Personal life
In March 2008, Foote paid for the funeral of Mark Brown-Williams, a ten-year-old child from
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
, who had drowned after falling through the ice on a tributary of the
Rouge River in February.
[Askari, Emilia.]
Hundreds say their good-byes to boy
, The Detroit Free Press
The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...
, published March 2, 2008, accessed March 3, 2008. Foote had no pre-existing personal connection to the family, but he was touched after hearing of the tragedy, as he has a son of nearly that age himself and had played on the same frozen river when he was a child.
[Harris, John.]
Athletes' good deeds virtually ignored
", The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review'', also known as "the Trib," is the second largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Although it transitioned to an all-digital format on December 1, 2016, it rem ...
, published March 3, 2008, accessed March 3, 2008.
On June 28, 2008, Foote married Jonelle Massop. The couple have four children together; Jalyn, Tripp, Tramm and Mason. Foote also has a son, Trey, from a previous relationship. His mother's name is Leslie Matthews; he has two sisters, Jennifer and Ciara Matthews.
References
External links
Tampa Bay Buccaneers profilePittsburgh Steelers profileDetroit Lions profileArizona Cardinals profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foote, Larry
1980 births
Living people
African-American coaches of American football
African-American players of American football
American football linebackers
Arizona Cardinals coaches
Arizona Cardinals players
Detroit Lions players
Michigan Wolverines football players
National Football League defensive coordinators
Pershing High School alumni
Pittsburgh Steelers players
Players of American football from Detroit
Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches
21st-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American people