Nolan Neil Cromwell (born January 30, 1955) is an American former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player who was a
safety
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
There are ...
for the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
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). 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 ...
for the
Kansas Jayhawks
The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a mem ...
, where he earned
All-American honors. Cromwell played for the Rams from 1977 through 1987 and was named to the
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 ...
in four consecutive years, 1980 through 1983. He played on the Rams' 1979–1980
Super Bowl XIV
Super Bowl XIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champi ...
team. He became a coach and was the Rams'
wide receivers coach
In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the Offensive coordinator, offensive and Defensive c ...
from 2010 to 2011.
Early years
Cromwell played in the town of
Ransom, Kansas
Ransom is a city in Ness County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 260.
History
The namesake of Ransom is Thomas E. G. Ransom.
The first post office in Ransom was established in 1887, but it was cal ...
while attending Logan High School as a freshman, helping the basketball team win a state championship. When his family moved to Ransom, Cromwell earned the nickname the "Ransom Rambler" while attending Ransom High School as a standout in football, basketball and track. He was a national AAU junior champion in the decathlon, a three-time state champion in track and earned consensus All-State honors in football and basketball. He was named the ''
Wichita Eagle
''The Wichita Eagle'' is a daily newspaper published in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is owned by The McClatchy Company and is the largest newspaper in Wichita and the surrounding area.
History
Origins
In 1870, ''The Vidette'' was the fi ...
''s high school football player of the decade for the 1970s.
Playing career
College
Cromwell was an honorable mention
All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
for the
University of Kansas Jayhawks under coach
Bud Moore. He started at quarterback for two seasons, throwing 92 passes and completing 33 for 606 yards. He is one of KU's ten 1,000-yard rushers in school history.
As a freshman in 1973 under Coach Don Fambrough, he was the starting free safety in the
Liberty Bowl
The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic City ...
. After being a two-year starter and All Big 8 performer at safety, he made the move
to quarterback where he broke several KU, Big Eight and NCAA records for rushing by a quarterback. In 1975, Cromwell rushed 294 and 187 yards in the Oregon State and Wisconsin games, respectively, and finished the season with 1,124 rushing yards. He also scored a touchdown in a 23-3 win over the
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
who were ranked #1 at the time and the defending national champions. In 1975, he was named Big 8 Offensive Player of the Year by the AP. Despite playing in just 18 games on offense at Kansas (he suffered a season-ending knee injury in his senior year when the Jayhawks were 5-1 and ranked in the top 10), he is 13th on the school's all-time rushing charts and is the top rushing quarterback. He holds the Kansas record for most rushes (24) by a Kansas player in a Bowl game (set vs. Pittsburgh in the 1975
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...
).
Cromwell also earned All-America honors in the 600-yard run and the 440 intermediate hurdles while setting KU records in the 600-meter and 400-meter yard runs, the intermediate hurdles (a record he still holds at 49:47) and the decathlon and qualified for the US Olympic trials in the low hurdles.
He was part of the Big-8 champion mile relay team in 1975 and 1976 and was the Big-8 440-yd/400-meter hurdle champ in both 1975 and 1976.
With Cromwell's contributions the 1975 Jayhawk track team finished ranked second in the NCAA in outdoor track and fifth in indoor track while capturing both titles for the Big-8 Conference. In 1976 they repeated as Big-8 indoor champs and were second in outdoor while finishing tied for 9th in the NCAA in indoor competition and tied for 20th in outdoor competition.
Cromwell was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.
NFL
Cromwell was drafted by the
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...
as a
defensive back
In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
in the second round, with the 32nd pick, in
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
and played his entire 11-year career in Los Angeles. He was the Rams' nickelback in 1977 and 1978 and a standout on special teams; running a fake field goal as a holder was Cromwell's specialty. In 1979, he won the starting free safety position and was named second-team All-NFC.
He was named the 1980
NFC Defensive Player of the Year by
UPI
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...
and by the
Kansas Committee of 101, and was named by ''
Football Digest
''Football Digest'' was a sports magazine for fans interested in professional American football, with in-depth coverage of the National Football League (NFL). The magazine modeled the ''Reader's Digest'' idea, to bring the best in football journali ...
'' as the NFL Defensive Back of the Year in four consecutive years: 1980 through 1983. He was also selected to play in four consecutive
Pro Bowls
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 ...
, from 1980–1983. Cromwell was part of the Rams defenses that performed well in the late 1970s as well as the Top 10 defenses of 1985 and 1986 when Rams qualified for the playoffs five of his last six seasons.
At the time of his retirement, he was the Rams' all-time leader in interception return yardage with 671 yards on 37 interceptions. After retirement, he was named to the
NFL 1980s All-Decade Team
The NFL 1980s All-Decade Team was chosen by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The team was composed of outstanding performers in the National Football League in the 1980s. The squad consists of first- and second-team offensive, defensive and ...
and the Orange County Sports Hall of Fame. The
Professional Football Researchers Association
The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by writer/hist ...
named Cromwell to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2014
Along with his various accomplishments on the field, Cromwell also starred and "danced" in the
1986 Rams promotional video ''Let's Ram It'', rapping "I like to ram it, as you can see, nobody likes ramming it more than me," after introducing himself as "Hollywood handsome,
Dodge City
Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. The city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town ...
tough."
Coaching career
NFL
After retirement as an active player, Cromwell began his coaching career with the Rams. He served as a defensive and
special teams
In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
assistant in 1991 before being hired by
Mike Holmgren
Michael George Holmgren (born June 15, 1948) is a former American football coach and executive. He began his NFL career as a quarterbacks' coach and later as an offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, where they won Super Bowls XXII ...
to coach special teams for 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 ...
in 1992. From 1992–97, Cromwell headed up the special teams for the Packers. The Packers' punt return unit led the NFL in 1996 with a 15.1-yard return average. Five different times during the 1996 season, one of Cromwell's players was honored as Special Teams Player of the Week. Also in 1996, the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI against the New England Patriots in New Orleans with special teams player Desmond Howard winning the Super Bowl MVP honors. The following year, the Packers reached
Super Bowl XXXII
Super Bowl XXXII was an American football game played between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers (who were defending their Super Bowl XXXI championship) and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver B ...
in San Diego against the Denver Broncos. In 1998, he moved from special teams to coach the Packers'
wide receivers and Cromwell worked with the wide receivers at Green Bay in 1998 helping Pro Bowler Antonio Freeman lead the NFL with 1,424 yards on 84 catches
After two
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
appearances with Green Bay, in 1996 and 1997, Cromwell followed Holmgren to the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
to coach the wide receivers. Cromwell's 2002 wide receiver corps set a franchise record for 300-yard (five) and 400-yard (two) passing games and in 2003 helped quarterback Matt Hasselbeck set a club record with 3,841 passing yardsIn Seattle, Cromwell again made a Super Bowl appearance as a coach during the Seahawks'
2005 season.
Cromwell was hired by 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 arri ...
as their
wide receivers coach
In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the Offensive coordinator, offensive and Defensive c ...
on February 10, 2010. Cromwell and the entire coaching staff were fired following the
2011 season in which the team posted a 2–14 record.
On January 18, 2012, Nolan Cromwell was hired as the Senior Offensive Assistant of the Cleveland Browns.
College
On January 5, 2008, Texas A&M
head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...
Mike Sherman
Michael Francis Sherman (born December 19, 1954) is an American gridiron football coach and former player who most recently was the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was the head coach of the Green B ...
named Cromwell to be his
offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...
. When asked by media as to why he chose Cromwell, Sherman responded "I’ve always been impressed with him and the job he did in (the NFL). He's excited about being part of college football."
On February 10, 2010, Cromwell returned to the NFL as a wide receiver coach for the Rams and worked with the likes of Donnie Avery, Mark Clayton, Brandon Gibson, and other to get into synch with new Rams quarterback
Sam Bradford
Samuel Jacob Bradford (born November 8, 1987) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings. He was also a member of the P ...
.
Rams Hire Nolan Cromwell as WRs coach
/ref>
Personal life
Nolan married former Rams cheerleader and Miss Hollywood USA 1980–81 Mary Lynne Gehr. They have two children, Lance and Jennifer.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cromwell, Nolan
1955 births
Living people
American football cornerbacks
American football safeties
American football quarterbacks
Green Bay Packers coaches
Kansas Jayhawks football players
Los Angeles Rams coaches
Los Angeles Rams players
Seattle Seahawks coaches
St. Louis Rams coaches
Texas A&M Aggies football coaches
National Conference Pro Bowl players
People from Ness County, Kansas
People from Smith Center, Kansas
Players of American football from Kansas
National Football League replacement players