Paul Spicer (born August 18, 1975) 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

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 ...

who is the defensive line coach for the

San Antonio Brahmas The San Antonio Brahmas are a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas. The team is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL, owned by RedBird Capital, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia's Alpha Acquico, LLC. History The XFL ...

of the XFL. 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 Saginaw Valley State. He then played 12 seasons 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) from 1998 to 2009, the majority of his career with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

. He was signed by 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 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 1998. In his playing days, Spicer also was a member of the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

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

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

Early years

Spicer attended Northwest High School in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

College career

DuPage

Spicer attended the

College of DuPage College of DuPage is a public community college with its main campus in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. The college also owns and operates facilities in the Illinois communities of Addison, Carol Stream, Naperville and Westmont. With more than 20,000 s ...

Glen Ellyn, Illinois Glen Ellyn is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. A suburb located due west of downtown Chicago, the village has a population of 28,846 as of the 2020 Census. History Glen Ellyn, like the neighboring town to the east, Lomba ...

for two years, where he played for legendary coach

Bob McDougal Robert Joseph McDougal (March 19, 1921August 10, 2003) was a professional American football fullback in the National Football League (NFL) who played for the Green Bay Packers. He was a native of Oconto, Wisconsin. McDougal played collegiate ...

. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

, he was a JUCO All-American

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 ...

and helped lead the

Chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

s to 24 straight wins.

Saginaw Valley State

Paul was a two-year starter at

Saginaw Valley State University Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) is a public university in University Center, Michigan in Saginaw County. It was founded in 1963 as Saginaw Valley College. It is located on in Saginaw County's Kochville Township, approximately north of ...

where he played for former University of Minnesota and Northern Illinois University head coach Jerry Kill. He missed most of his junior year with a broken

fibula The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity is ...

. He was named MVP of the GLICA conference in 1998 posted 16.5 sacks during his senior season.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

Spicer was signed as an

by the

in 1998 but was waived before the start of the season.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

After his release from the Seahawks, Spicer played part of the 1998 season with the

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

Detroit Lions

Spicer was signed by the Detroit Lions and was on the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

for most of the 1999 season.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Spicer was signed by the

in 2000 but only played in three games. In 2001, he was allocated by the Jaguars to play with the

Frankfurt Galaxy Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Frankfurt Galaxy: * Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2007 * Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF) The Frankfurt Galaxy is an American football team in Frankfurt, ...

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

. His best season with the Jaguars came in 2005 when he accumulated 37 tackles (30 solo), 7.5 sacks, and two pass deflections. Spicer helped lead the Jaguars to their first playoff berth in six years. On February 28, 2009, Spicer was cut from the Jaguars.

New Orleans Saints

Spicer agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the

on March 17, 2009. Spicer was released on September 5, 2009 and remained a free agent until being re-signed on January 5, 2010 after

Charles Grant Charles or Charlie Grant may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Charles Jameson Grant (), American editorial cartoonist * Charles L. Grant (1942–2006), American novelist * Charles Grant (actor) (born 1957), American actor * Charles Grant (dancer ...

was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

Jacksonville Jaguars

On February 23, 2011, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Paul Spicer to a one-day contract so the defensive end could retire as a member of the team that he started his career with.

Coaching career

Jacksonville Jaguars

On February 24, 2011, Spicer's one day contract with the Jaguars expired, officially retiring him from the NFL. Spicer was hired as the assistant defensive line coach by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On February 26, 2015, Spicer was hired as the assistant defensive line coach 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 ...

, reuniting him with defensive line coach Joe Cullen.

New Orleans Breakers

On March 17, 2022, it was announced that Spicer would be hired as the Defensive Line coach for the New Orleans Breakers of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

San Antonio Brahmas

Spicer was officially hired by the

of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

to be their Defensive Line coach on September 13, 2022

Personal life

Spicer is a former a co-host of ''In to the End Zone'' on

WJXT WJXT (channel 4) is an independent television station in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It is owned by Graham Media Group alongside CW affiliate WCWJ (channel 17). Both stations share studios at 4 Broadcast Place on the south bank of th ...

. Spicer has a wife named Shariffa and has five children.New Orleans Saints bio
/ref> He was reunited with some of his paternal relatives through the WE TV show "The Locator" on an episode that aired September 19, 2009.

Acting

Spicer has a speaking part in '' The Year of Getting to Know Us'', a movie that was filmed in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. The film stars

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, television host, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' and as the host of the late-night talk show ''The Ton ...

and

Tom Arnold Tom Arnold may refer to: * Tom Arnold (actor) (born 1959), American actor * Tom Arnold (economist) (born 1948), Irish CEO of Concern Worldwide * Tom Arnold (footballer) (1878–?), English footballer * Tom Arnold (literary scholar) (1823–1900), ...

. The producers of the movie needed a burly security guard who could toss Fallon out of an airplane for a scene at

Jacksonville International Airport Jacksonville International Airport is a civil-military public airport 13 miles (21 km) north of Downtown Jacksonville, in Duval County, Florida. It is owned and operated by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority. History Construction star ...

References

External links

*
Jacksonville Jaguars bioNew Orleans Saints bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spicer, Paul 1975 births Living people American football defensive ends American football linebackers American male film actors American players of Canadian football Canadian football defensive linemen Canadian football linebackers College of DuPage Chaparrals football players Detroit Lions players Frankfurt Galaxy players Jacksonville Jaguars coaches Jacksonville Jaguars players Male actors from Indianapolis New Orleans Saints players Players of American football from Indianapolis Players of Canadian football from Indianapolis Saginaw Valley State Cardinals football players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Seattle Seahawks players Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches New Orleans Breakers (2022) coaches