Marvin Eugene Cook (born February 24, 1966) is an American former professional football player who was a

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

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). He was selected by the New England Patriots in the third round of the

1989 NFL Draft The 1989 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 1989, at the Marriott Ma ...

. A 6'4", 234-lb. tight end from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

, Cook played in seven NFL seasons from 1989 to 1995 for the Patriots, the Chicago Bears, and the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

. He was a two-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

selection in 1991 and 1992. In 1991, Cook was fourth in NFL receptions with 83. His 210 receptions as a Patriot put him 3rd in team history for tight ends behind

Rob Gronkowski Robert James Gronkowski (born May 14, 1989) is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. Nicknamed "Gronk", Gronkowski played nine seasons for the New England Patriots, then played h ...

and Ben Coates.

Coaching

From 2007 to 2021, Cook was the head football coach at Regina High School in Iowa City, where he won seven straight state titles between 2010 and 2016, as well as a state record 56 game winning streak from 2010 to 2013. In 2010, one of Regina's 14 wins was against Class 3A's #1 Ranked team, the Solon Spartans, of the

WaMaC Conference The WaMaC conference is a high school athletic conference in Eastern Iowa made up of mid-sized schools. The conference is named for the three rivers that drain in the area (Wa for Wapsipinicon, Ma for Maquoketa, and C for Cedar). WaMaC also part ...

, ending Solon's 44 game winning streak. Regina is the conference rival of Cook's own high school, in

West Branch West Branch may refer to: Communities * West Branch, Iowa, city in Cedar and Johnson counties * West Branch, Michigan, city in Ogemaw County * West Branch, New Brunswick, in the Local Service District of Weldford Parish * West Branch River John, i ...

, where his football jersey is retired and in the halls at West Branch High School. Cook announced in May 2021 that he would be resigning as Regina's head coach, his youngest son having graduated from Regina earlier that month. Cook did not specify future plans.

References

1966 births Living people American football tight ends Chicago Bears players Iowa Hawkeyes football players New England Patriots players St. Louis Rams players High school football coaches in Iowa All-American college football players American Conference Pro Bowl players Sportspeople from Iowa City, Iowa People from West Branch, Iowa Players of American football from Iowa {{collegefootball-player-stub