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| No. 84 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Tight end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1956-03-27)March 27, 1956 (age 69) Palo Alto, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 236 lb (107 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Saint Francis(Mountain View, California) | ||||||||
| College | Santa Clara | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1979: 3rd round, 76th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
Playing | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Douglas Durant Cosbie (born March 27, 1956) is an American former professionalfootball player who was atight end in theNational Football League (NFL) for theDallas Cowboys. He playedcollege football atSanta Clara University.
Cosbie has been a football coach for several years and is currently head coach of theBergamo Lions in theItalian Football League.
Cosbie attendedSaint Francis High School inMountain View, California. He competed in football,basketball,baseball and ran in the two-mile relay in track.
As a senior in 1973, he helped the Lancers reach the finals of theCentral Coast Section playoffs, before losing the title game 32–30 toSaratoga High School. In 1974, he was part of the first Santa Clara Valley All-Star Football Game, playing with the North team.
Cosbie initially enrolled atDe Anza College. He later transferred to theCollege of the Holy Cross, playing 11 games as a backup, while tallying 1 reception for 6 yards.[1] He transferred toSanta Clara University after the 1974 season, to play under head coachPat Malley.
As a freshman in 1975, he collected 26 receptions and 5touchdowns. As sophomore in 1976, he was named the starter attight end, registering 34 receptions for 444 yards and onetouchdown. As a junior in 1977, he posted 31 receptions for 517 yards and onetouchdown.
In the regular season, he recorded 29 receptions for 427 yards and 3touchdowns. He finished his Santa Clara career with 120 receptions for 1,721 yards, 14.3 yards per reception and 10touchdowns.[2] His records were eventually broken byBrent Jones.[3] For his achievements, Cosbie was inducted into theSanta Clara University Athletic Hall of Fame.
Cosbie was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round (76th overall) of the1979 NFL draft.[4] The team's draft strategy through that time was to take the highest-ranked player on their draft board, regardless of position. When the Cowboys' turn came up in the third round, the highest rated player on their board wasquarterbackJoe Montana. However, feeling that thequarterback position was in excellent shape withRoger Staubach,Danny White andGlenn Carano, the Cowboys needing a tight end to joinBilly Joe DuPree, deviated from their philosophy and chose Cosbie instead.[5] After being passed over by the next five teams in the draft order, theSan Francisco 49ers selected Montana as the final player of the third round.
In his first 2 seasons, he was a backup behind DuPree andJay Saldi, playing mainly onspecial teams and as a blocking tight end on short-yardage and goal-line situations.
In1981, he almost won the starting tight end spot, but was still able to share it with Dupree and tied for the team lead with 5touchdown receptions. In1982, he was named the starter during the 9 game strike shortened season, finishing second on the team with 30 receptions (led the NFC tight ends) for 441 yards, a 14.7-yard average and 4touchdown receptions (led the team).
In1983, he emerged as one of the league's top tight ends, making 46 receptions (franchise record for tight ends) for 588 yards (third on the team) and 6touchdowns. He also earned his first invitation to thePro Bowl.
In1984, he broke his own team record for receptions by a tight end with 60 catches, which led the team and was second among NFC tight ends. He was second on the team with 789 yards and 4touchdowns.
In1985, he set a team record for receptions by a tight end for the third straight year with 64 catches. He also established a franchise record for receiving yards in a season by a tight end (793) and had 6touchdowns (second on the team). He was named to theUPI All-Pro NFC team.[6]
In1986, his production fell more than 50 percent to 28 receptions for 312 yards and onetouchdown, mainly because of the extensive use ofrunning backHerschel Walker as a receiver out of the back field, that produced 837 yards.
In1987, he had 36 receptions for 421 yards and 3touchdowns, becoming the franchise's All-time leading receiver among tight ends and his 288 catches ranked him fifth on the All-time Cowboys receiving list.
In1988, he lost his starting job in the fifth game due to being limited by offseason surgery on his Achilles tendon, posting 4 starts, 12 receptions and 112 yards. In1989, with the arrival of new head coachJimmy Johnson, he was left unprotected inPlan B free agency.
Although he was a strong blocker, he became more of a receiving threat than any previous Cowboystight end. He caught over 60 passes in a season twice during his career, and set team records for atight end with catches and yards per season and career, which have since been broken byJay Novacek andJason Witten. He is part of the Cowboys franchise's legacy of great tight ends that includes:Jim Doran,Lee Folkins,Pettis Norman,Mike Ditka,Billy Joe DuPree,Jay Novacek andJason Witten.
Cosbie caught 300 passes for 3,728 yards and 30touchdowns and also had 22 catches for 243 yards and 3touchdowns in 7 playoff games. He still ranks eleventh in franchise history in receptions and ninth in receiving yards. He made three straightPro Bowls from1983 to1985.
On March 30,1989, he was signed by theDenver Broncos inPlan B free agency.[7] He decided to retire during training camp that season, after playing for 10 years in theNFL and also in threeNFC Championship Games.[8]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1979 | DAL | 16 | 1 | 5 | 36 | 7.2 | 12 | 0 |
| 1980 | DAL | 16 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 6 | 1 |
| 1981 | DAL | 16 | 0 | 17 | 225 | 13.2 | 28 | 5 |
| 1982 | DAL | 9 | 9 | 30 | 441 | 14.7 | 45 | 4 |
| 1983 | DAL | 16 | 16 | 46 | 588 | 12.8 | 61 | 6 |
| 1984 | DAL | 16 | 16 | 60 | 789 | 13.2 | 36 | 4 |
| 1985 | DAL | 16 | 16 | 64 | 793 | 12.4 | 42 | 6 |
| 1986 | DAL | 16 | 15 | 28 | 312 | 11.1 | 22 | 1 |
| 1987 | DAL | 12 | 12 | 36 | 421 | 11.7 | 30 | 3 |
| 1988 | DAL | 11 | 4 | 12 | 112 | 9.3 | 21 | 0 |
| 144 | 89 | 300 | 3,728 | 12.4 | 61 | 30 | ||
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1979 | DAL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1980 | DAL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1981 | DAL | 2 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 13.0 | 21 | 1 |
| 1982 | DAL | 3 | 3 | 9 | 94 | 10.4 | 19 | 1 |
| 1983 | DAL | 1 | 1 | 5 | 62 | 12.4 | 22 | 1 |
| 1985 | DAL | 1 | 1 | 6 | 61 | 10.2 | 21 | 0 |
| 11 | 6 | 22 | 243 | 11.0 | 22 | 3 | ||
Cosbie worked in Hollywood from 2006 to 2010 forShangri-La Entertainment. He is also co-owner of the La Jolla Group, along with fellow Santa Clara University athletes,Kurt Rambis and Rich Brown.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Menlo Oaks(NCAA Division III independent)(1996) | |||||||||
| 1996 | Menlo | 5–4 | |||||||
| Menlo Oaks(NCAA Division III independent)(2000) | |||||||||
| 2000 | Menlo | 6–4 | |||||||
| Menlo: | 11–8 | ||||||||
| Total: | 11–8 | ||||||||
served as the Bears offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach for the past two seasons