 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Edgar Bennett
Green Bay Now in the fourth year of his "second" football career, Edgar Bennett has found a home as the Running Backs Coach for the Green Bay Packers. The Packer Hall of Famer from the class of 2005, Bennett has provided Green Bay's young running backs with the knowledge and experience gained from many successful years in the NFL. Over the past three seasons, Bennett’s position has been nothing short of challenging; having to overcome an extraordinary amount of injuries in the Packers backfield. Coaching 17 different running backs over that period, Edgar has transformed many young and inexperienced players such as Samkon Gado, Vernand Morency, Noah Herron, and mostly notably Ryan Grant into key contributors for the Packers. After acquiring Ryan Grant from the Giants early in the 2007 season, Bennett transformed Grant from a practice squad back to a rising star in the NFL. The last 10 weeks of the season saw Bennett’s protégé, Grant gain 929 yards, which ranked 2nd amongst all NFL running backs during that period. Bennett joined the Packers coaching staff after spending four years as Director of Player Development. As Director of Player Development, Bennett assisted former Head Coach Mike Sherman with helping players become acclimated to their roles as Green Bay Packers, both on and off the field, especially in terms of their expected contributions to their teammates, the community and team chemistry. Bennett also oversaw the Packers' wide range of programs designed to meet the needs of the players and their families in today's National Football League, providing a framework of assistance within which players and their immediate family members can address the pressures created by daily life and complicated by the demands of playing professional football. Bennett assisted players in taking full advantage of the NFL's many offerings, including those dealing with financial advice, continuing education and professional internships aimed at preparing players for their careers when their playing days are over. Bennett, Green Bay's fourth-round draft selection in 1992, is the eighth-ranking rusher in Packers history. The former Florida State Seminole gained 3,353 yards during his five seasons in Green and Gold (1992-96). En route, during the 1995 he became only the sixth player in team annals to rush for 1,000 yards in a season (1,067) and the first Packer to do so since Terrell Middleton in 1978. He also continues to hold the club single-season record for receptions by a running back with 78, set in 1994. After a torn Achilles' heel suffered in the Packers' 1997 preseason opener ended his season, a successfully-rehabbed Bennett signed with Chicago as an unrestricted free agent in February of 1998 and went on to lead the Bears in rushing that season with 611 yards. After one more season with Chicago, Bennett retired from football in 2000. A four-year starter at fullback for Florida State (1987, 1989-91), Bennett holds a bachelor's degree in political science from the university. Previously, he had been a Class 4A first-team all-state back at Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville, where he was a teammate of former Packers safety LeRoy Butler, who later also would be his teammate at FSU and in Green Bay. Edgar is married to the former Mindy Woldt of Green Bay. The couple has two children, a son, Edgar Bennett IV, 7, and a daughter, Elyse Morgan, 2. |
