Autry Lamont Denson (born December 8, 1976[2]) is an American football coach and former player who is the running backs coach for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach at Charleston Southern University from 2019 to 2022.[3]

Autry Denson
Arizona Cardinals
Position:Running backs coach
Personal information
Born: (1976-12-08) December 8, 1976 (age 47)
Lauderhill, Florida, U.S.
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:203 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:Nova
(Davie, Florida)
College:Notre Dame
NFL draft:1999 / round: 7 / pick: 233
Career history
As a player:
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards:212
Rushing average:3.4
Rushing TDs:0
Receiving yards:133
Receiving average:7.4
Receiving TDs:0
Stats at Pro Football Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Head coaching record
Career:NCAA: 14–22 (.389)

Denson played college football as running back at the University of Notre Dame. He played professionally for four seasons in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts, and Chicago Bears and one season in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Montreal Alouettes.

Playing career

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High school

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Denson attended Nova High School[4] where he played for Willie Dodaro.[5]

College

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Denson is Notre Dame's all-time leading rusher with 4,318 yards and 43 touchdowns while holding many other rushing records at the University of Notre Dame.[4]

In 1997, he ran for 1,268 yards on 264 carries and scored 12 TDs. In 1998, he ran for 1,306 yards on 277 carries and scored 18 TDs.

Denson was the MVP of the Gator Bowl in 1999 played against Georgia Tech.

Professional

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Denson was selected in the seventh round with the 233rd pick of the 1999 NFL draft by Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[5][6][7] He never made it to the active roster for Tampa Bay.

In two years (1999–2000) with Miami Dolphins, he ran for 206 yards on 59 carries while also catching 18 passes for 133 yards. In 2000, he returned 20 kicks for 495 yards. Denson spent the 2001 season with the Chicago Bears. He had only one carry for 4 yards while spending most of the year on special teams. While on special teams he returned 23 kicks for 534 yards as well as 1 punt return for 5 yards. During the 2002 with the Indianapolis Colts, Denson rushed for 2 yards on 2 carries with 2 kick returns for 38 yards.

Denson spent the 2004 season in the Canadian Football League (CL) as a member of the Montreal Alouettes. He finished eighth in rushing with 772 yards and nine touchdowns while being given the player of the week Honors during the season.

Coaching career

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Early career

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In April 2010, after spending some years away from the game of football, Denson was named the head football coach at Pope John Paul II High School in Boca Raton, Florida.[8]

Bethune–Cookman

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In 2011, Denson was hired as the running backs coach at Bethune–Cookman University.

Miami (OH)

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In 2014, Denson joined Miami University as their running backs coach.

Notre Dame

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In 2015, Denson was hired to fill the running backs coaching vacancy at the University of Notre Dame, his alma mater. ,[9] and the University of South Florida.

Charleston Southern

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Denson was named the head coach at Charleston Southern on January 14, 2019.[10][11] He was relieved of his duties following the 2022 season, after a 2–8 finish.[12]

Arizona Cardinals

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On March 1, 2023, the Arizona Cardinals hired Denson as their running backs coach.[13]

Head coaching record

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Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Charleston Southern Buccaneers (Big South Conference) (2019–2022)
2019 Charleston Southern 6–6 4–2 3rd
2020–21 Charleston Southern 2–2 2–2 3rd
2021 Charleston Southern 4–6 3–4 T–3rd
2022 Charleston Southern 2–8 2–3 T–3rd
Charleston Southern: 14–22 11–11
Total: 14–22

References

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  1. ^ "Autry Denson". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  2. ^ "Autry Denson". IMDb. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  3. ^ "Autry Denson - Head Coach - Staff Directory". Charleston Southern University. Archived from the original on March 7, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Autry Denson". Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website. May 10, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Autry Denson - Football". Bethune-Cookman University Athletics. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  6. ^ "Autry Denson College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  7. ^ "1999 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  8. ^ "Autry Denson named Pope John Paul II football coach". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. April 19, 2010. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  9. ^ "Sources: Gilmore and Denson to Notre Dame".
  10. ^ Vowles, Joshua (January 14, 2019). "Autry Denson is officially announced as the new head coach for Charleston Southern". One Foot Down. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  11. ^ Kelly, Lisa (May 20, 2021). "Former Notre Dame Tailback Autry Denson Publishes Book". One Foot Down. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  12. ^ Brice, John (November 14, 2022). "Sources: Charleston Southern, former Notre Dame great Autry Denson parting ways". footballscoop.com. Football Scoop. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  13. ^ "Arizona Cardinals fill out coaching staff with 15 new hires and 7 retentions". arizonasports.com. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
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