Thomas Joseph Myslinski, Jr. (born December 7, 1968) is a professional

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 wi ...

strength and conditioning coach A strength and conditioning coach (also known as an S&C coach) is a physical performance professional who uses exercise prescription to improve the performance of competitive athletes or athletic teams. This is achieved through the combination of ...

for 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 pla ...

. He was strength and conditioning coach for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...

until the end of the 2009 season. He is also a former

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 majo ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

. He was originally drafted by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

in the

1992 NFL Draft The 1992 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, 1992, at the Marriott M ...

and played nine seasons in the NFL for seven different teams.

Early years

Myslinski attended

Rome Free Academy Rome Free Academy (commonly abbreviated as RFA) is a public high school located in Rome, New York, United States, at the former site of Griffiss Air Force Base. The school opened at this location in September 2002, having previously been located ...

, where he played as a center. As a junior, he was a part of an undefeated season and a state championship. He received All-state honors as a senior. In

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

, he was a two-time state champion in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by th ...

and finished second in the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's c ...

competition.

College career

Myslinski accepted a football scholarship from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th sta ...

. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

freshman, he was given his first start at right guard in the second game against

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jam ...

. He then suffered an ankle injury which caused him to miss the next 5 games. He was a starter at

left guard In gridiron football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is a player who lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team on the line of scrimmage used primarily for blocking. Right gu ...

in 37 straight games, dating back to his freshman season, helping the team to a 29-6-2 record, 2 SEC championships and to set a school record for total yards each of his last three years. He was a member of the 1991 NCAA Champion

team. In 1990, he finished third in the

in the SEC outdoor meet with a career-best 61 '2" toss. In 1991, he placed fifth in the

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin throw, javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that na ...

in the SEC outdoor meet.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys (first stint)

Myslinski was selected by the

in the fourth round (109th overall) of the

. He got injured on the first day of training camp, which would limit him going forward. He was waived on August 31 and signed to 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, ...

on September 2.

Cleveland Browns

On September 8,

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

, he was signed by the

from the Cowboys

. He dressed but did not play in 5 games, before being waived on October 10. On October 14, he was signed to the

. On October 17, he was released.

Washington Redskins

On October 21,

, he was signed to the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

. He was promoted to the active roster on November 11. He played against 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 t ...

and the

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 ...

. He was released on November 28.

Buffalo Bills

On April 6, 1993, he was signed by 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 ...

. He was waived on August 30, and re-signed one day later. He appeared in the season opener, but did not play in the next 3 contests. He was declared inactive in 4 games, before being released on November 15.

Chicago Bears

On November 30, 1993, he was signed 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 ...

. He was declared inactive in his first 4 games. He played in the season finale against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...

. In

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 sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

, he appeared in 4 games, while being declared inactive in the sixth game against the

and the 2 playoff contests. He dressed but did not play in 11 games.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Myslinski was selected by the

in the 1995 NFL Expansion Draft from the

roster. He started in the first 9 games at right guard. He was declared inactive for the final 7 games. He was released on March 4,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

Pittsburgh Steelers (first stint)

On April 24,

, he signed with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

and was waived on August 25. On August 27, he was re-signed and started 6 out of 8 games at right guard. In

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, he started 7 out of 16 games at right guard. He was the team's

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point att ...

from game 10 to 14.

Indianapolis Colts

On February 19,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, he was signed by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

. He was limited by a rotator cuff surgery to four games and was not re-signed.

Dallas Cowboys (second stint)

On September 23,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, he was signed by the

. He played in 10 games (2 starts) and was not re-signed.

Pittsburgh Steelers (second stint)

On April 7,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, he was signed by the

. He was waived on August 31,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

. He started in 6 out of 8 games. He started in games 6 through 12 at right guard in place of an injured Brenden Stai.

Personal life

Myslinski developed the “Tunch Punch Ladder” hand agility pad. While still playing in the NFL, he served as a volunteer strength and conditioning coach at the

University of North Florida The University of North Florida (UNF) is a public research university in Jacksonville, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Sc ...

in 1996. He was a volunteer assistant strength and conditioning coach at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

from 1998 to 2001. In 2007, he was named the head strength and conditioning coach for the

. In 2005 he was hired as the head strength and conditioning coach at

Robert Morris University Robert Morris University (RMU) is a private university in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1921 and is named after Robert Morris, known as the "financier of the mericanrevolution." It enrolls nearly 5,000 students and offers 60 ...

. In 2010, he was hired as the football strength and conditioning coach at the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering, the Center for Ea ...

. In 2011, he was named the football strength and conditioning coach at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC S ...

. On January 27, 2012, he was hired as the

strength and conditioning coordinator. After the first game of his senior season in high school, he was involved in a car accident, in which he was thrown through a rear door window breaking his right leg and forcing him to have over 100 stitches to his head. Despite these injuries, he was able to pull the two passengers that were in the front seat of the car.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Myslinski, Tom 1968 births Living people Sportspeople from Rome, New York Players of American football from New York (state) American football offensive guards Tennessee Volunteers football players Tennessee Volunteers men's track and field athletes Indianapolis Colts players Dallas Cowboys players Washington Redskins players Buffalo Bills players Chicago Bears players Jacksonville Jaguars players Pittsburgh Steelers players American strength and conditioning coaches Cleveland Browns coaches Robert Morris Colonials football coaches Memphis Tigers football coaches North Carolina Tar Heels football coaches Jacksonville Jaguars coaches American people of Polish descent