Gerald Alexander (born June 28, 1984) is an American football coach and former safety. He played college football at Boise State, and was selected by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 2007 NFL draft.[1] He also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, Miami Dolphins, and New York Jets. He is currently the safeties coach for the Las Vegas Raiders.
| Las Vegas Raiders | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Safeties coach | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | June 28, 1984 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 209 lb (95 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Rancho Cucamonga | ||||||||||||
| College: | Boise State | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2007 / round: 2 / pick: 61 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| As a player: | |||||||||||||
| As a coach: | |||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Alexander was a former graduate assistant with Arkansas State University and University of Washington. In July 2015, he became the defensive backs coach at Indiana State University. In December 2015, he accepted the position of defensive backs coach at Montana State University, working under head coach Jeff Choate.
Early life
editAlexander attended Rancho Cucamonga High School from 1998 to 2002, where he was a track and field athlete as well.
He was one of the players who helped lead Boise State to their improbable Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma in the 2006 season. While at Boise State, Alexander was a four-time First-team All-WAC selection.
Professional career
editDetroit Lions
editAlexander played all 16 games of his rookie season when safety Daniel Bullocks suffered a season-ending knee injury during a preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts. During that 2007 season Gerald recorded 81 tackles, 59 solo and 22 assisted. He also had 2 sacks, interceptions and fumble recoveries.
Jacksonville Jaguars
editOn June 26, 2009, he was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars for Dennis Northcutt. On October 19, 2010, the Jaguars released Alexander.[2]
Carolina Panthers
editOn November 23, the Panthers signed Alexander.[3] He became a free agent after the season.
Miami Dolphins
editAlexander signed with the Miami Dolphins on August 28, 2011. Alexander was released on September 2, 2011, by the Miami Dolphins. Re-signed on October 19, 2011.
New York Jets
editAlexander was signed by the New York Jets on December 13, 2011, to add depth to the safety position following a season-ending injury to starting safety Jim Leonhard.[4] He was released on March 14, 2012.[5]
Statistics
edit| Year | Team | Games | Combined Tackles | Tackles | Assisted Tackles | Sacks | Forced Fumbles | Fumble Recoveries | Fumble Return Yards | Interceptions | Interception Return Yards | Average Yards per Interception Return | Longest Interception Return | Interceptions Returned for Touchdown | Pass Defeneded | Stuffs | Stuff Yards | Kick Blocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | DET | 16 | 81 | 59 | 22 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 70 | 35 | 36 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | DET | 5 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 2009 | JAX | 15 | 55 | 45 | 10 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 12 | 22 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | JAX | 3 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | CAR | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | MIA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | NYJ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 44 | 159 | 121 | 38 | 2.0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 93 | 23 | 36 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
Coaching career
editArkansas State
editAlexander served as an undergraduate assistant on the coaching staff of Arkansas State for the 2013 season.
Washington Huskies
editAlexander joined the Washington Huskies coaching staff as a graduate assistant in 2014 under head coach Chris Petersen.[9]
Indiana State
editAfter participating in the Bill Walsh Minority Internship Program with the Tennessee Titans during the team's 2015 training camp, Alexander served as the defensive backs coach for Indiana State.[9]
Montana State
editAlexander again participated in the Bill Walsh Minority Internship Program in the summer of 2016, this time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[9] Following the two-week program, Alexander coached Montana State's secondary.
California
editAlexander joined University of California's coaching staff in 2017 as their defensive backs coach. He served in that role through the 2019 season.[10]
Miami Dolphins
editOn January 24, 2020, it was reported that Alexander was hired by the Miami Dolphins to serve as the team's defensive backs coach under head coach Brian Flores.[11] He missed the team's week 9 game against the Arizona Cardinals on November 8, 2020, in accordance with COVID-19 protocols.[12] On February 10, 2022, Alexander was fired by the Dolphins.[13] Gerald Alexander is in his second year as the team's assistant defensive backs coach.
Pittsburgh Steelers
editIn his first season with Pittsburgh, Alexander assisted with a Steelers secondary that tied for first in the League in interceptions with 20 in 2022. S Minkah Fitzpatrick led the group with a career-high and League-leading six interceptions, earning Pro Bowl and First Team All-Pro honors.
Las Vegas Raiders
editAlexander was hired by the Las Vegas Raiders under new head coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco.[14]
References
edit- ^ "2007 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
- ^ "Jaguars continue roster shuffling; Alexander released". jagsreport.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012.
- ^ "Panthers add depth at quarterback and safety". charlotteobserver.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021.
- ^ Mehta, Manish (December 13, 2011). "Jets sign Gerald Alexander to take Jim Leonhard's spot on roster". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on January 8, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
- ^ Vrentas, Jenny (March 14, 2012). "Free-agent receiver Chaz Schilens to visit Jets". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on March 17, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
- ^ "Gerald Alexander Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
- ^ "Indiana State hires 31-year-old Gerald Alexander as new DBS coach".
- ^ "Gerald Alexander, Former NFL 2nd Round Draft Choice, Joins MSU Staff".
- ^ a b c McGill, Jim (January 25, 2020). "Cal DB Coach Gerald Alexander Departs For NFL". Bear Insider. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
- ^ McGuire, Kevin (January 24, 2020). "Cal loses assistant Gerald Alexander to NFL job". CollegeFootballTalk | NBC Sports. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- ^ Williams, Charean (January 24, 2020). "Dolphins hire Gerald Alexander as defensive backs coach". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
- ^ Wolfe, Cameron (November 8, 2020). "Miami Dolphins without five assistant coaches due to COVID-19 protocols". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
- ^ "Breaking News: Dolphins Fire Defensive Backs Coach Gerald Alexander". February 10, 2022.
- ^ Strackbein, Noah (January 24, 2024). "Raiders Hire Steelers Assistant Coach". Sports Illustrated Pittsburgh Steelers News, Analysis and More. Retrieved January 27, 2024.