| No. 36 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Safety | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born | (1966-04-01)April 1, 1966 Orlando, Florida, U.S. | ||||
| Died | November 25, 2020(2020-11-25) (aged 54) Plano, Texas, U.S. | ||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school | Osceola(Kissimmee, Florida) | ||||
| College | Syracuse | ||||
| NFL draft | 1989: 4th round, 95th overall pick | ||||
| Career history | |||||
Playing | |||||
| |||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||
Coaching | |||||
| |||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||
| |||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||
| |||||
Markus Dwayne Paul (April 1, 1966 – November 25, 2020)[1] was an American professionalfootball player who was asafety in theNational Football League (NFL) for theChicago Bears andTampa Bay Buccaneers. He playedcollege football for theSyracuse Orange and was selected by theChicago Bears in the1989 NFL draft. He also was a strength and conditioningcoach with theNew Orleans Saints,New England Patriots,New York Jets,New York Giants andDallas Cowboys.
Paul attendedOsceola High School inKissimmee, Florida.[2] As a junior, he was named the startingquarterback and contributed to the team reaching the state championship game, where they lost toTitusville High School.[3]
He also was a starter in the school'sbasketball team that had a perfect 37-0 record and won the state championship during the 1982-83 season.
Paul accepted a football scholarship fromSyracuse University, where he played under head coachDick MacPherson from 1984 to 1988. Paul chose Syracuse because it was the only football program that gave him the option to play as either a quarterback or a defensive back; otherDivision I programs only recruited him to play on defense.
As a true freshman, he decided on playing as asafety early on, was named a starter for the season opener and recorded 7 interceptions during the season, including 3 in one game.[4] He would go on to start every game for Syracuse as afree safety during his career.[5]
As a junior, he was a finalist for theJim Thorpe Award and tallied 5 interceptions. As a senior, he was again a finalist for theJim Thorpe Award, registered 4 interceptions and earned first-teamAll-American honors.[6]
Paul set the school records for interceptions in a career (19) and in a game (3). In October 1999, he was named to the Syracuse University's All-Century team.[7]
TheChicago Bears traded with theLos Angeles Raiders to move up and select Paul in the fourth round (95th overall) of the1989 NFL draft.[8][9][2] During his rookie season, Paul primarily deputized forShaun Gayle.[10] Paul's first career interception in the NFL came in a week eight game against theLos Angeles Rams.[11]
During the 1990 season, Paul primarily served as a backup with at least five other defensive backs ahead of him in the depth chart.[12] Paul replacedMark Carrier in a week five match-up against theGreen Bay Packers after Carrier suffered a concussion.[13]
On August 17,1993, after Cowboys defensive coordinatorDave Wannstedt became the head coach for theChicago Bears, he traded Paul,linebackerJohn Roper andtight endKelly Blackwell, in exchange forlinebackerVinson Smith,linebackerBarry Minter and a sixth-round draft pick (#198-Carl Reeves).[14]
On August 30,1993, he was released by the Dallas Cowboys.[15]
On August 31,1993, he was signed as afree agent by theChicago Bears.[16] He appeared in 8 games, playing as a nickel back on passing downs. He was cut on December 15. He started in 15 of the 70 career games he played with the Bears and registered 7 interceptions.[17]
On December 22,1993, he signed as afree agent with theTampa Bay Buccaneers.[18] He appeared in one game and was declared inactive for the season finale. He was released on August 8,1994.[19]
| Year | Team | Games | Interceptions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1989 | CHI | 16 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 0 |
| 1990 | CHI | 16 | 0 | 2 | 49 | 24.5 | 26 | 0 |
| 1991 | CHI | 14 | 7 | 3 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 0 |
| 1992 | CHI | 16 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| 1993 | CHI | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Career[20] | 71 | 15 | 7 | 100 | 14.3 | 26 | 0 | |
In1998, Paul rejoined his strength and conditioning coach at Syracuse,Mike Woicik, then serving in the same position with theNew Orleans Saints, as the Saints' assistant strength and conditioning coach. Paul followed Woicik to the Patriots in2000, again serving as the assistant strength and conditioning coach underBill Belichick. After winningSuper Bowl XXXVI,Super Bowl XXXVIII, andSuper Bowl XXXIX with the Patriots, he left the team for theNew York Jets following the2004 season.
He spent one year underHerman Edwards as the Jets' director of physical development, then a year underEric Mangini as the team's strength and conditioning coach. At the end of the 2006 season, Mangini chose not to renew Paul's contract.[21]
Paul was then hired by theNew York Giants as their assistant strength and conditioning coach and won two moreSuper Bowls (XLII andXLVI) in his 12 year tenure. Paul was the assistant strength coach for theDallas Cowboys in 2018, once again joining Woicik on an NFL coaching staff.[22] In2020, he was named the team's head strength and conditioning coordinator. Across his coaching career, Paul was involved in five Super Bowl wins.[23]
On November 24, 2020, Paul was rushed to the hospital after suffering a heart attack at the Cowboys' team facility,[24] and died the following day at age 54.[1][25]