Thomas Dean Rathman (born October 7, 1962) is a 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, a fullback for 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 ...

and

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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). Following his playing career, he became a coach in 1995 and coached the 49ers' running backs through the 2016 season and now will be inducted into the 49ers' hall of fame. Rathman was a three-sport star at Grand Island Senior High in central Nebraska. In addition to a state Hall of Fame career as a fullback for the Islanders football team, Rathman won a state championship in the

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in 1980 during his junior year.

College career

Rathman was a three-year letter winner in football at the

University of Nebraska 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 ...

. He finished his college career with 1,425 rushing yards, and averaged over six yards per carry. Often considered the greatest fullback in modern Nebraska history, Rathman set several school position records, some of which still stand, including most yards rushing by a fullback in a single season (881, in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

) and most career rushing touchdowns by a fullback (twelve). He was noted for his ability to break long runs, especially during his senior year in 1985, when he averaged 7.5 yards per carry. * 1983: 26 carries for 143 yards and 0 TD * 1984: 75 carries for 381 yards and 4 TD * 1985: 118 carries for 881 yards and 8 TD

Professional career

Rathman was selected by the 49ers in the

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of the 1986 NFL Draft with the 56th overall pick. His professional career spanned nine years as a fullback, the first eight with the 49ers. For the first five seasons, he was the lead blocker for another former Cornhusker, Roger Craig. Rathman helped lead the 49ers to two

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championships, rushing for 38 yards, catching four passes for 43 yards, and scoring two touchdowns in Super Bowl XXIV. In 1989, he led all NFL running backs in receiving with 73 receptions for 616 yards. Rathman spent his last season in 1994 with the

. Rathman finished his NFL career with 2,020 rushing yards, 320 receptions for 2,684 yards with a total of 34 touchdowns. Additionally, Rathman had five kickoff returns for 103 yards.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Rathman began his coaching career in 1995 at the

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

level, as the running backs coach for Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo. The next year, he served as

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 ...

Menlo College Menlo College is a private college specializing in business and is located in Atherton, California. Campus Menlo College is situated on 45-acre (0.18 km2) campus in Atherton, California, 25 miles southeast of San Francisco and 20 miles nort ...

in Atherton. He became a pro coach in

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when he joined the 49ers staff, and served as running backs coach through

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. In 2003, he accompanied head coach

Steve Mariucci Stephen Ray Mariucci (born November 4, 1955), nicknamed "Mooch", is an American sportscaster and former football coach who was the head coach of two National Football League teams, the San Francisco 49ers (1997–2002) and the Detroit Lions (200 ...

to 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 ...

where Rathman was running backs coach during Mariucci's three seasons with the Lions. He then held the same position for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

for three seasons, and returned to the 49ers as running backs coach on January 7, 2009. Following the departure of head coach Mike Singletary, Rathman was retained by

Jim Harbaugh James Joseph Harbaugh (; born December 23, 1963) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current and 20th head football coach of the Michigan Wolverines. He played college football at Michigan from 1983 to 1986. He play ...

for the

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season and was again retained by

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for the 2015 season. After the firing of Tomsula a year later, Rathman was once again retained by new 49ers head coach

Chip Kelly Charles Edward Kelly (born November 25, 1963) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the UCLA Bruins. He came to prominence as the head coach of the Oregon Ducks from 2009 to 2012, whom he led to four consecutive BCS bowl game a ...

for the 2016 season. Following that season, Rathman was not re-hired after

Kyle Shanahan Kyle Michael Shanahan (born December 14, 1979) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, wh ...

was named head coach for the upcoming season. On February 27, 2018, Rathman was hired as the running backs coach for the Indianapolis Colts. On January 28, 2021, the Colts announced Rathman had retired.

Personal life

Rathman currently resides in

Redwood Shores, California Redwood Shores is a waterfront community in Redwood City, California, along the western shore of San Francisco Bay on the San Francisco Peninsula in San Mateo County. Redwood Shores is the home of several major technology companies, including O ...

with his wife Holly, and three daughters, Nicole, Ali, and Samantha.

References

External links

Indianapolis Colts profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rathman, Tom 1962 births Living people American football fullbacks Detroit Lions coaches Indianapolis Colts coaches Los Angeles Raiders players Menlo Oaks football coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Oakland Raiders coaches San Francisco 49ers coaches San Francisco 49ers players High school football coaches in California People from Grand Island, Nebraska Players of American football from Nebraska