Francis Michael Dwyer II (born June 13, 1963) is a former American football

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. 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 the University of Massachusetts.

Early life

Dwyer attended

Barnstable High School Barnstable High School is a public high school (grades 8–12) in the village of Hyannis, Massachusetts, United States, Town of Barnstable. The school is part of the Barnstable Public School District. Barnstable High School was founded in the ...

, where he played as a linebacker and

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

. He enrolled in the University of Rhode Island, where he became a starter at

. After his sophomore season, he transferred to the University of Massachusetts. As a senior, he led the team with 12.5 sacks and 4 fumbles recoveries, while receiving Division I-AA All-American honors.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Dwyer was signed as an undrafted free agent by the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

after the

1986 NFL draft The 1986 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 29–30, 1986, at the Marriott Marq ...

. He was waived on August 18.

Dallas Cowboys

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, he signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys. He was released on September 1. After the NFLPA strike was declared on the third week of the season, those contests were canceled (reducing the 16-game season to 15) and the

NFL 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 major ...

decided that the games would be played with replacement players. He was re-signed to be a part of the Dallas replacement team that was given the mock name "Rhinestone Cowboys" by the media. He started 3 games at left defensive tackle, playing alongside future Hall of Famer Randy White and keeping his starting position over

Kevin Brooks, who crossed the picket line on October 7. He registered 8 tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery against 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 ...

. He was a popular player with the Cowboys fans during those games, because of his style of play and celebrations. He was cut on October 26, at the end of the strike.

Green Bay Packers

On July 24,

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 ...

, he was signed by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

as a free agent. He was cut before the start of the season.

Phoenix Cardinals

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

, he signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Cardinals. He was released on September 4.

Personal life

After football, he was hired as the defensive line coach at

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dwyer, Mike 1963 births Living people American football defensive tackles Dallas Cowboys players National Football League replacement players Rhode Island Rams football players UMass Minutemen football players High school football coaches in Massachusetts Players of American football from Boston