Michael Lynn Cofer (April 7, 1960 – March 21, 2019) was 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. He was drafted by 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 ...

in the third round of the

1983 NFL Draft The 1983 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 26–27, 1983, at the New York She ...

. He was a

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

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

. Cofer played college football at

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, where he was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the 1982 squad.

Early life and college career

Cofer was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and grew up in the city's Mechanicsville neighborhood. He played high school football at Rule High School. Following his senior season, he was named to the ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

'' All-American team, and was the number one recruit in the state, with offers from 50 schools. Cofer 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 ...

from 1979 through the 1982 season. In 1979, he played in all eleven games, registering 27 tackles (11 solo) and a fumble recovery.Tennessee Career Football Statistics
, UTSports.com. Retrieved: May 5, 2013. In 1980, he played in five games, picking up 32 tackles (22 solo), including a sack and two tackles for a loss, as well as two fumble recoveries, before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Cofer played in 10 games in 1981, registering 94 tackles (53 solo) and a blocked punt. He played in 11 games in 1982, tallying 84 tackles (58 solo), including 4 sacks and 5 tackles for a loss, as well as two fumble recoveries. He was named All- SEC following the 1982 season. At Tennessee, Cofer was known as Mike "Stop" Cofer to distinguish him from his teammate, Mike "Go" Cofer, who played tight end.

Professional career

Cofer was drafted in the 3rd round (67th overall) by the Detroit Lions in the 1983 NFL draft. He played 10 seasons in the NFL, all with the Lions, starting in 104 games.Mike Strange,
Former Vol, Knoxville Native Michael Cofer Fights an Incurable Disease
" ''Knoxnews.com'', May 4, 2013. Retrieved: May 5, 2013. He registered 511 tackles and 63 sacks during his career. Cofer played in all 16 games during his rookie season, earning 4.5 sacks. During his second season, he moved into the starting lineup, picking up 7 sacks. Initially a

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 ...

, he switched to

in 1985 when the Lions' new head coach,

Darryl Rogers Darryl Dale Rogers (May 28, 1934 – July 10, 2018) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at California State College at Hayward—now known as California State University, East Bay (1965), California State Univers ...

, installed a

3–4 defense In American football, the 3–4 defense is a common defensive alignment consisting of three down linemen and four linebackers. It is a called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs). ...

. He registered 7.5 sacks in 1986,Doug Warren,
100 Days, 100 Detroit Lions: #76 Michael Cofer
" WaketheHerd.com, September 26, 2012. Retrieved: May 5, 2013. and would lead the team in sacks each season from 1987 through 1990. He garnered 12 sacks in 1988 to earn an invitation to the Pro Bowl. Cofer struggled with injuries during the early 1990s, missing most of the 1991 season and part of the 1992 season. After spending the entire 1993 season on injured reserve, he was waived by the Lions.

Later life and family

Cofer lived near

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

with his wife, Reba. They have two sons together, Michael Isaiah and

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

. His younger brother, Joe, also played for Tennessee.

Phil Cofer Philip Cofer (born June 19, 1996) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. He played college basketball for the Florida State Seminoles. Early life and high school career Cofer is the son of NFL linebacker Mi ...

is a member of the

Florida State Seminoles men's basketball The Florida State Seminoles men's basketball team represents Florida State University (variously Florida State or FSU) in the intercollegiate sport of basketball. The Seminoles compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divi ...

team. In September 2013, Cofer was honored as a Vol Legend of the Game during Tennessee's game against

South Alabama South Alabama is the various parts of southern Alabama. Although it is not a strictly defined geographic region, it generally includes all Alabama counties south of the Black Belt. In that view, ''South Alabama'' consists of just the two counties ...

. Diagnosed with

amyloidosis Amyloidosis is a group of diseases in which abnormal proteins, known as amyloid fibrils, build up in tissue. There are several non-specific and vague signs and symptoms associated with amyloidosis. These include fatigue, peripheral edema, weight ...

in 2007, Cofer died in Fayetteville, Georgia, on March 21, 2019, at the age of 58.

References

External links

Profile at NFL.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cofer, Mike 1960 births 2019 deaths Players of American football from Knoxville, Tennessee American football defensive ends American football linebackers Tennessee Volunteers football players Detroit Lions players National Conference Pro Bowl players Deaths from amyloidosis