Hardy Nickerson
| Illinois Fighting Illini | |||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive coordinator | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | September 1, 1965 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Compton, California | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Los Angeles (CA) Verbum Dei | ||||||||
| College: | California | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1987 / Round: 5 / Pick: 122 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| As coach: | |||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Tackles: | 1,586 |
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| Sacks: | 21 |
| Interceptions: | 12 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Hardy Otto Nickerson (born September 1, 1965) is an American football coach and former player. He played as linebacker for four teams over 16 seasons, from 1987 to 2002, in the National Football League (NFL). Nickerson spent the prime of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The hiring of head coaches Sam Wyche and Tony Dungy allowed Nickerson to play in the middle in a 4–3 defense for both coaches; Nickerson played in a 3–4 defense with the Pittsburgh Steelers. While playing in the 4–3, Nickerson went to five Pro Bowls, and was selected for the National Football League 1990s All-Decade Team.
Nickerson attended Verbum Dei High School, a Catholic school located in Watts, Los Angeles. He earned a BA degree in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1989.
In 2006, Nickerson became the color analyst for the Buccaneer Radio Network, teaming him with the longtime veteran play-by-play man Gene Deckerhoff.
On February 23, 2007, Nickerson was named linebackers coach of the Chicago Bears, where he coached for his former Tampa Bay position coach, Lovie Smith. On January 8, 2008, he resigned from the Bears due to health issues within his family.
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