 Brazile in 2010 | |||||||||||||
| No. 52 | |||||||||||||
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| Position | Linebacker | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1953-02-07)February 7, 1953 (age 72) Mobile, Alabama, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 241 lb (109 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Vigor(Prichard, Alabama) | ||||||||||||
| College | Jackson State (1971–1974) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1975: 1st round, 6th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Robert Lorenzo Brazile Jr. (born February 7, 1953), nicknamed "Dr. Doom", is an American former professionalfootball player who was alinebacker in theNational Football League (NFL). Brazile played from 1975 to 1984 for theHouston Oilers and was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
Brazile was taken with the sixth pick of the first round of the1975 NFL draft. It was part of the bountySid Gillman acquired along withCurley Culp when he tradedJohn Matuszak to theKansas City Chiefs. However, it would be new head coach/general managerBum Phillips who made the selection.[1]
Phillips' arrival in Houston also brought a change in the base defense the Oilers ran, switching from a4-3 to a3-4. The 3–4 would prove to be a perfect fit for Brazile's combination of size (6'4", 230 lbs) and great speed. While most citeLawrence Taylor as the prototype of the pass-rushing outside linebacker in the NFL,[2] there are some, including Phillips, who say Brazile was the one who first made the 3–4 popular for sending an outside linebacker to rush the quarterback.[3] Brazile also performed well in pass coverage and against the run, consistently ranking at or near the top for the team lead in tackles even though opponents often avoided his side of the field.[4]
Brazile found immediate success with the Oilers, winning theNFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year award for the1975 season. He was named to thePro Bowl seven straight seasons, wasAll-Pro five straight seasons (1976–80),[5] and was selected to theNFL's All-Decade Team for the 1970s. In1978 and1979, Brazile was a key member of Oilers teams that went to back-to-backAFC Championship Games.
After a third straight postseason loss in1980, Phillips was fired by Oilers ownerBud Adams and the team entered a period of steep decline. The constant losing wore on Brazile and caused him to contemplate retiring.[6] However, he has said it was the death of his first wife, Cookie, in a car wreck in Houston in 1984, that made the decision for him.[7]
Officially, Brazile finished his career with 11quarterback sacks. Unofficially, his career sack total is 48 (sacks did not become an official NFL statistic until 1982).[8] He is also credited with 1,281 tackles, the second highest total inHouston Oilers /Tennessee Titans history.[9]
On August 24, 2017, Brazile and formerGreen Bay Packers guardJerry Kramer were named as seniors committee finalists for thePro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2018.[10] He was announced as member of the class of 2018 on February 3, 2018. Robert Brazile was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, August 4, 2018, and his bust was sculpted byScott Myers.
On October 14, 2018, Brazile was inducted to the Titans-Oilers Ring of Honor.[11]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Sck | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Int | Yds | Y/I | Lng | TD | FR | Yds | Y/F | TD | |||
| 1975 | HOU | 14 | 14 | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 3.6 | 0 |
| 1976 | HOU | 14 | 14 | 6.5 | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 1977 | HOU | 14 | 14 | 5.0 | 3 | 40 | 13.3 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 1978 | HOU | 16 | 16 | 5.0 | 1 | 30 | 30.0 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 1979 | HOU | 16 | 16 | 5.0 | 2 | 45 | 22.5 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 1980 | HOU | 16 | 16 | 6.5 | 2 | 38 | 19.0 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 1981 | HOU | 16 | 16 | 2.0 | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 1982 | HOU | 9 | 9 | 6.5 | 1 | 31 | 31.0 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 1983 | HOU | 16 | 16 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 1984 | HOU | 16 | 16 | 2.0 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Career | 147 | 147 | 48.0 | 13 | 201 | 15.5 | 33 | 0 | 14 | 18 | 1.3 | 0 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Sck | Fumbles | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | FR | Yds | Y/F | TD | |||
| 1978 | HOU | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 1979 | HOU | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| 1980 | HOU | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Career | 7 | 7 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | |
After retiring from the NFL, Brazile, along with ex-Oiler teammateKen Burrough, coached for a minor league pro team in Mobile, Alabama. After needing quadruple bypass heart surgery in 2004, Brazile gave up coaching and became a middle-school teacher for children with special needs in Mobile. He has also become an avid tennis player.[12][13] When asked if his old "Dr. Doom" persona ever comes out on the tennis court, he's quoted as saying laughingly, "No more Dr. Doom," "Just Robert Brazile."[14]
In 2007, Brazile was inducted into the Bancorp Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.[15]
Media related toRobert Brazile at Wikimedia Commons