Timothy Alan Krumrie (born May 20, 1960) is a former
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 ...
nose 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 ...
who played his entire
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 ...
career for the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
, from 1983 through 1994.
Early years
Krumrie was raised on a dairy farm outside of
Mondovi, Wisconsin
Mondovi is a city along the Buffalo River in Buffalo County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,777 at the 2010 census. The city is located mostly within the Town of Mondovi. A small portion lies within the Town of Naples.
Histo ...
. He played football at
Mondovi High School
Mondovi is a city along the Buffalo River in Buffalo County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,777 at the 2010 census. The city is located mostly within the Town of Mondovi. A small portion lies within the Town of Naples.
Histo ...
. Also a standout wrestler for the Buffaloes, Krumrie won the heavyweight state title in 1979, the last year all schools were combined in one division.
Each year since 2009, the Tim Krumrie Award is given to the outstanding high school senior defensive lineman in Wisconsin. The award is given by the Wisconsin Sports Network and WisSports.net.
College career
Krumrie attended the
University of Wisconsin-Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
, who recruited him as an inside linebacker but switched him to nose tackle. He led the Badgers in tackles all four years he played, and was a three-time All-Big Ten selection. He was the school's all-time leading tackler at the time of his graduation, and currently is third. He still holds the record for most solo tackles in a career at 276.
He was named defensive MVP of the Badgers'
1982 Independence Bowl
The 1982 Independence Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Kansas State Wildcats at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana on December 11, 1982. The game was the final contest of t ...
win over
Kansas State
Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...
. A member of the Wisconsin wrestling team in 1979 and 1980, he finished fifth at the Big Ten Championships as a sophomore heavyweight.
Krumrie was enshrined in the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
Hall of Fame in 1999. He was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...
in 2016.
Professional career
Krumrie was chosen in the 10th 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 ...
.
Krumrie was selected 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 ...
twice, in 1987 and 1988, and made one
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 ...
appearance.
He finished his career with 34 sacks and 13 fumble recoveries for 35 return yards in 188 games. At the time of his retirement, his 34 sacks were the fourth highest in franchise history.
Krumrie is perhaps remembered most for the severely broken leg he suffered during
Super Bowl XXIII
Super Bowl XXIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...
where the Bengals played the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
. As Krumrie came off a block from 49er offensive linemen
Jesse Sapolu
Manase Jesse Sapolu (born March 10, 1961) is a Samoan former American football player in the National Football League. He played both center and offensive guard, and played his entire career for the San Francisco 49ers.
Sapolu attended Farrington ...
and
Randy Cross
Randall Laureat Cross (born April 25, 1954) is an American football analyst and former player. He was a right guard and center in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and was inducted into the Colle ...
, he went to make a tackle on ball carrier
Roger Craig. When his foot was planted in the ground, the pressure his weight put on his ankle joint caused his lower leg to snap above the joint. Knowing how devastating losing Krumrie would be, Bengals coach Sam Wyche can be heard talking into his headset at the time, simply saying "Get up Tim. Get up Tim." as Krumrie laid on the field. The injury was severe enough that an inflatable splint had to be brought out onto the field to stabilize the leg and Krumrie was diagnosed with a broken
tibia
The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...
and
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 ...
. Despite his injury, Krumrie refused to go to the hospital, insisting on staying in the locker room and watching the game on television, only leaving when the paramedics told him he might go into shock. After a 15-inch steel rod was surgically implanted to stabilize the leg, Krumrie was ready by the start of the 1989 regular season.
Krumrie played six more years. He led the team with 97 tackles in 1992.
Krumrie concluded his playing career following the
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
season after compiling 1,017 tackles (700 solo), 34.5 sacks, 13 fumble recoveries, 11 forced fumbles and 10 passes defensed.
Coaching career
After retiring in 1994, Krumrie joined the Bengals organization as defensive line coach and served in that position from 1995 to 2002. Krumrie was also the defensive line coach for the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
under head coach
Mike Mularkey
Michael Rene Mularkey (born November 19, 1961) is a former American football coach and tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Florida, and was drafted in the ninth round of the 1983 NF ...
from 2003 to 2005. After his contract was not renewed by Buffalo, he was the defensive line coach for the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
until his dismissal on January 5, 2010.
In April 2011, Krumrie joined
Jerry Glanville
Jerry Michael Glanville (born October 14, 1941) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Alabama Airborne of Major League Football. He played football at Northern Michigan University in the early 1960s, and is a former NASCAR d ...
's staff as defensive line coach for the UFL
Hartford Colonials
The Hartford Colonials, originally the New York Sentinels, were a professional American football team that played in the United Football League in its 2009 and 2010 seasons. A charter member of the UFL, the Sentinels began play in 2009 nominally ...
.
Personal life
Krumrie and his wife, Cheryl, have two children, Kelly and Dexter.
Krumrie has become a bicycling enthusiast, recently completing a 112-mile ride over two mountain passes. He rides 25 to 30 miles a day, and runs five to eight miles every other day.
He currently lives in
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
The City of Steamboat Springs is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Routt County, Colorado, United States. Steamboat Springs is the principal city of the Steamboat Springs, CO Micropolitan Sta ...
. He discovered in 2010 that he had symptoms of
brain trauma
A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic br ...
, but he has sought treatment that he says has improved his health.
[Jim Owczarski]
Cincinnati Bengals great Tim Krumrie's brain: A work in progress
. ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'', December 7, 2017.
References
External links
NFL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krumrie, Tim
1960 births
Living people
All-American college football players
American Conference Pro Bowl players
American football defensive tackles
Cincinnati Bengals players
Hartford Colonials coaches
Kansas City Chiefs coaches
Buffalo Bills coaches
Cincinnati Bengals coaches
Sportspeople from Eau Claire, Wisconsin
People from Mondovi, Wisconsin
People from Menomonie, Wisconsin
Players of American football from Wisconsin
Wisconsin Badgers football players
American male sport wrestlers
Ed Block Courage Award recipients