Bernie Kosar
Encyclopedia
Bernard Joseph "Bernie" Kosar, Jr. (born November 25, 1963) is a former American football
quarterback
in the National Football League
. Kosar played for the Cleveland Browns
from 1985 to 1993 and then finished his career with the Dallas Cowboys
and the Miami Dolphins
.
, Ohio
, Kosar was raised in suburban Boardman
. He attended Boardman High School
, where he earned Parade
magazine All-American honors as a senior for the 1981 season. He also gained recognition as a baseball
player, especially for his pitching
skills.
at the University of Miami
, which ran a passing-oriented offense and was beginning to emerge as one of the top football programs in the nation.
After being redshirted
in 1982, Kosar started
all 12 games as a freshman
in 1983. He completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 2,328 yards and 15 touchdowns, leading the Hurricanes to an 11–1 regular season and a berth in the Orange Bowl against top-ranked Nebraska, which had won 22 consecutive games. In the game, Kosar passed for 300 yards and two touchdowns, and the Hurricanes topped the Cornhuskers 31–30 for Miami’s first national championship
.
In 1984, he set Hurricane season records with 3,642 yards and 25 touchdowns, was a second-team All-American and finished fourth in Heisman Trophy
voting. Kosar’s career completion percentage of 62.3 percent is still a Hurricanes record.
Yet, 1984 was not without its disappointments for Kosar. He threw for 447 yards and two touchdowns, completing 25 of 38 attempts, in the Hurricanes' November 23, 1984, 47–45 loss to Doug Flutie
's Boston College
team when Flutie threw his famous "Hail Flutie" pass. Earlier in the same year, Kosar watched helplessly as replacement quarterback Frank Reich
of the University of Maryland
launched what was then the biggest comeback in college football history. Reich led the Maryland Terrapins
back from a first-half deficit of 31–0 and won a 42–40 victory.
Kosar was interviewed about his time at the University of Miami for the documentary The U
, which premiered December 12, 2009 on ESPN
.
rules at the time, only seniors and graduates could be drafted. Kosar, who was scheduled to graduate over the summer from the University of Miami's business school
with a double major in finance
and economics
, had two years of college eligibility remaining.
At the time, underclassmen had until April 15, 1985, to notify the league about their eligibility for the April 30 regular draft. In January 1985, a Florida television report stated that Kosar had decided to forgo his two years of eligibility and declare for the NFL draft
. Kosar denied the report at the time, but added that he would keep his options open. At a March 15 news conference, Kosar announced that he would make himself available for the 1985 NFL Draft
and that he would like to play for the Cleveland Browns
in his native Ohio
. After the announcement, both NFL and United States Football League
teams were interested and Kosar's agent, Dr. John Geletka, even met with the USFL's commissioner, Harry Usher
to confirm the USFL's interest level.
The Buffalo Bills
held the first pick in the 1985 NFL Draft and signed defensive end
Bruce Smith out of Virginia Tech
weeks before the draft. On April 9, 1985, Mike Lynn, the general manager of the Minnesota Vikings
traded two picks to the Houston Oilers
to move up to the second spot in the draft in preparation of Kosar's announcement that he would enter the draft.
Later on the same day, Cleveland traded their first round picks in the 1985 NFL Draft (#7) and 1986 NFL Draft
, their third round pick in 1985 (#63) and their sixth round pick in 1986 to the Buffalo Bills
for their first round pick in the 1986 NFL Draft. Since the Bills had the worst record in the 1984 season, they held the first pick in both the regular NFL draft and the supplemental draft in 1985. When a selection is used in the supplemental draft, that team forfeits the pick in the next regular draft which meant that the Browns could use the Bills 1986 regular draft first round pick as the first pick in the 1985 supplemental draft.
On April 10, NFL spokesman Joe Browne said that if Kosar's paperwork was not received by the April 15 deadline then he would not be eligible for the regular draft on April 30. Browne added that if Kosar later decided to play in the 1985 season, then the league would hold a supplemental draft for Kosar and other eligible players.
Minnesota responded by stating that when Kosar announced he would turn professional, he was, in effect, declaring his intention to enter the draft. They also charged that the Browns and Kosar's agent orchestrated this scenario in order to subvert the NFL's orderly system of drafting players and claim Kosar for themselves. Mike Lynn also stated that since Kosar had hired an agent, he should have automatically lost his college eligibility and become eligible for the regular draft. The Oilers threatened to sue the NFL if Kosar was allowed to skip the regular draft in favor of the supplemental draft and Kosar's agent threatened to sue the NFL if Kosar was forced into the regular draft.
Due to the controversy, on April 12, commissioner Pete Rozelle
extended the April 15 eligibility deadline for Kosar alone (who had not officially filed the paperwork for draft eligibility) and called a hearing that would take place on April 16. The four teams (Buffalo, Cleveland, Houston and Minnesota) involved in the two trades presented their case at the hearing.
On April 23, Rozelle announced that he would leave the decision up to Kosar, but permitted Minnesota to persuade Kosar to enter the regular draft with the condition that they could not negotiate a potential contract with him. This led to an April 25 news conference where Kosar announced that he wanted to go home to Ohio as a member of the Cleveland Browns and that he would forgo the regular NFL draft and make himself eligible for the supplemental draft. On May 10, Kosar officially announced his intentions for the supplemental draft in a letter to the commissioner. On June 25, Kosar became officially eligible for the supplemental draft when he took his exam finals and the university notified the NFL front office that he had graduated. On July 3, 1985, the Browns selected Kosar and signed him to a five-year contract that same day.
On a related note, Buffalo tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
for the worst record in 1985 and would have had the first pick in the 1986 draft. Since that pick was traded to Cleveland and it was used for the 1985 supplemental draft, the Bills essentially forfeited the first overall pick in the 1986 draft. The Bills however, still had the rights to Jim Kelly
at the time and eventually signed him. The Buccaneers ended up selecting Bo Jackson
with the first pick at that draft. Ironically, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also lost the first pick of the 1986 NFL Draft because Bo Jackson refused to sign with them and entered the 1987 NFL Draft. Both the Bills and the Buccaneers lost the opportunity to have the first player in the 1986 draft play for them.
Kosar was not the most athletic man to play quarterback. He was famously immobile and threw with an unwieldy sidearm motion. However, he threw with a high rate of accuracy and rarely forced throws or made bad decisions. In 1990 and 1991, Kosar set a league record by throwing 308 consecutive passes without an interception (a record since surpassed by New England Patriots
quarterback Tom Brady
on December 26, 2010 against the Buffalo Bills).
The Browns intended Kosar to serve as Gary Danielson
's backup in Kosar's rookie
season, but Danielson injured his shoulder in the fifth week. Kosar completed only half of his passes in the team’s run-oriented offense that year. Nevertheless, the team sneaked into the playoffs with an 8-8 record, losing to the Miami Dolphins
in the divisional playoffs.
Danielson was injured again in the 1986 preseason, and by the time he healed, Kosar had established himself not only as the Browns' permanent starter but as one of the league's top quarterbacks. In a new, passing-focused offense, Kosar threw for 3,854 yards and finished second in the league with 310 completions. The Browns took top seed in the American Football Conference
with a 12–4 record. In the divisional playoffs against the New York Jets
, Kosar threw for a playoff-record 489 yards in leading the Browns to a dramatic 23–20 comeback victory in double overtime. Only John Elway
's famous 98-yard drive in the following week’s AFC championship kept the Browns out of the Super Bowl
. Nevertheless, the 1986 novelty song "Bernie, Bernie", to the tune of "Louie Louie
" continued to receive airplay on many Ohio radio stations throughout Kosar's tenure with the Browns.
1987 was Kosar's finest year, statistically. In the strike-shortened season, he completed 62 percent of his passes for 3,033 yards and 22 touchdowns and led the AFC in quarterback rating. In an AFC championship rematch against Elway’s Denver Broncos
, Kosar threw for 356 yards and three touchdowns in a 38–33 loss. Kosar also made his only Pro Bowl
that season.
Kosar spent most of the 1988 season sidelined with injuries but came back to throw for 3,533 yards in 1989. That year, the Browns advanced to the AFC championship for the third time in four years, losing again to the Broncos in Denver.
Kosar's later years in Cleveland were dampened by injuries and dwindling support around him. In 1990, Kosar threw a career-high 15 interceptions as the Browns went 3–13. The following year, he came back to throw for 3,487 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also started the 1990 season by setting an NFL record for consecutive pass attempts without an interception with 286. A broken ankle sidelined him for most of the year in 1992.
In 1991, the Browns hired Bill Belichick
as head coach. Not a big fan of Kosar, Belichick had signed quarterback Vinny Testaverde
(Kosar's former college teammate) before the 1993 season. Early in the year, Belichick benched Kosar in favor of Testaverde. An injury to Testaverde returned Kosar to the field.
After a 29–14 loss to Denver in Week 8, the Browns released Kosar. Belichick told a press conference Kosar was suffering from "diminishing skills." The coach was not entirely incorrect as Kosar’s performance had diminished in recent years, but many the Browns fans saw this rejection as an insult, and some came to the next home game in Kosar masks. In David Halberstam's book "The Education of a Coach", the author outlines how Kosar ignored the Browns' coaches play calling during the Denver game, threw a touchdown to WR Michael Jackson after calling his own pass play and then told the press afterwards he'd drawn the play "up in the dirt". Belichick made the decision to release Kosar afterwards, but said years later he had handled the situation badly, and should have arranged for a more orderly transition to the post-Kosar era.
then signed Kosar to a one-year, $1 million contract to fill in for an injured Troy Aikman
. Kosar performed well in four games for the Cowboys and earned his only championship ring
as a backup in Super Bowl XXVIII
. Kosar entered the game in the final play and knelt down to close the victory. A week prior to the Super Bowl, Kosar relieved an injured Aikman in the second half of the NFC championship game against the San Francisco 49ers
, completing five of nine pass attempts for 83 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.
. He is perhaps best remembered among Dolphins fans for designing a trick play that helped the Dolphins top the Jets in a crucial game late in 1994. With the clock winding down and the Dolphins trailing by three, Marino pretended to spike the ball
to stop the clock. He then threw the winning touchdown
pass to Mark Ingram.
Kosar finished his 12-season career with 1,994 completions in 3,365 attempts for 23,301 yards and 124 touchdowns, with 87 interceptions. He also rushed for 265 yards and five touchdowns. He also held the NFL record for most consecutive completed passes without an interception, until December 26, 2010, when Tom Brady
broke his record.
franchise of the National Hockey League
. In 2004, he opened Bernie’s Steakhouse in South Miami, Florida
. He was also publisher of Bernie’s Insiders, a magazine that covered the Browns; his role ended when it became the Orange and Brown Report at the end of 2005. The Bernie J. Kosar Jr. Charitable Trust, established in 1991, funds programs for children and young adults. Kosar has turned down feelers to run for public office.
Kosar hosted the Nestle/Bernie Kosar Charity Classic at Tanglewood Country Club
in Bainbridge
, Ohio throughout the 1990s.
He has four children with his former wife Babette;
As part of a renewed hands-on involvement with his long-time team, Kosar joined the Cleveland Browns pre-season television broadcast team as a color commentator
in 2006. He returned as color commentator for the 2007 preseason and has done the color comentary ever since.
There had been talk of Kosar taking the head coaching job at his alma mater, the University of Miami, and Kosar (who currently holds a seat on University of Miami's board of regents
) acknowledged that he had considered taking the job before it was ultimately offered to Randy Shannon
.
On May 21, 2007, it was announced that Kosar would open a Bernie's Steakhouse in Cleveland's Flats East Bank Neighborhood, a $230 million mixed-use project. This steakhouse never opened. Bernie's Steakhouse in Miami had also been closed.
Kosar also purchased a minority share in the Arena Football League's Las Vegas Gladiators in 2007 and announced that the team would move to Cleveland and play under the name Cleveland Gladiators. On October 16, 2007, Kosar was named team president and CEO of the franchise. The Gladiators finished the 2008 regular season 9-7, earning them a playoff berth.
Following the 2008-2009 recession, Kosar and his businesses declared bankruptcy
on June 19, 2009, later listing $9.2 million in assets and $18.9 million in debt. Although the initial bankruptcy filing was a Chapter 11 restructuring, the US Bankruptcy Court in Fort Lauderdale ordered the proceeding changed to a Chapter 7 liquidation on January 6, 2010. Under the restructuring Kosar's filings proposed protecting his NFL pension; it is unclear at this time if he will be able to retain his pension under the Chapter 7 proceedings. The case is Bernard J. Kosar Jr., 09-22371, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida (Fort Lauderdale).
On October 17, 2009, Kosar was hired as a consultant for the Cleveland Browns
.
The Geauga County Maple Leaf newspaper, Thursday, July 15, 2010 reported that Kosar was about to lose property in Geauga County, Ohio for unpaid back taxes totaling $173,557.90. In September 2010, the trustees of Auburn Township
indicated that the township was considering purchasing the land in foreclosure
.
, by Pittacus Lore, Kosar is referenced by name and as a beagle
who protects the main protagonist named after him. In the 2011 film adaptation, a poster of Bernie Kosar depicting him during his football career is shown in the new bedroom of John Smith, the protagonist. As in the book, Smith/Number 4 names his beagle Bernie Kosar.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. Kosar played for the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
from 1985 to 1993 and then finished his career with the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
and the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Early life and high school career
A Hungarian-American born in YoungstownYoungstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Kosar was raised in suburban Boardman
Boardman, Ohio
Boardman is a census-designated place in Boardman Township, Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, just south of Youngstown. Boardman is considered to be a moderately affluent community and is one of two major retail hubs in the greater Youngstown area...
. He attended Boardman High School
Boardman High School (Mahoning County, Ohio)
Boardman High School is a public high school in Boardman, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Boardman Local School District. The first high school, located on Market Street, is now Boardman Center Middle School. In 1969, the new high school was built on Glenwood Ave...
, where he earned Parade
Parade (magazine)
Parade is an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 500 newspapers in the United States. It was founded in 1941 and is owned by Advance Publications. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade has a circulation of 32.2 million and a readership of nearly 70...
magazine All-American honors as a senior for the 1981 season. He also gained recognition as a baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player, especially for his pitching
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
skills.
College career
Kosar chose to play college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
, which ran a passing-oriented offense and was beginning to emerge as one of the top football programs in the nation.
After being redshirted
Redshirt (college sports)
Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility...
in 1982, Kosar started
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
all 12 games as a freshman
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
in 1983. He completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 2,328 yards and 15 touchdowns, leading the Hurricanes to an 11–1 regular season and a berth in the Orange Bowl against top-ranked Nebraska, which had won 22 consecutive games. In the game, Kosar passed for 300 yards and two touchdowns, and the Hurricanes topped the Cornhuskers 31–30 for Miami’s first national championship
1983 Miami Hurricanes football team
The 1983 Miami Hurricanes were the national champions of the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. The national championship was the first of five won by the University of Miami.-Offense:-Defense:-Special teams:-Coaching staff:-Schedule:...
.
In 1984, he set Hurricane season records with 3,642 yards and 25 touchdowns, was a second-team All-American and finished fourth in Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
voting. Kosar’s career completion percentage of 62.3 percent is still a Hurricanes record.
Yet, 1984 was not without its disappointments for Kosar. He threw for 447 yards and two touchdowns, completing 25 of 38 attempts, in the Hurricanes' November 23, 1984, 47–45 loss to Doug Flutie
Doug Flutie
Douglas Richard "Doug" Flutie is a former American and Canadian football quarterback. Flutie played college football at Boston College, and played professionally in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, and United States Football League...
's Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
team when Flutie threw his famous "Hail Flutie" pass. Earlier in the same year, Kosar watched helplessly as replacement quarterback Frank Reich
Frank Reich
Frank Michael Reich, Jr. is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, and the Detroit Lions. For a time, he had the distinction of having led his team to the biggest comeback victory ever in both the collegiate...
of the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
launched what was then the biggest comeback in college football history. Reich led the Maryland Terrapins
Maryland Terrapins
The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 27 men's and women's athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I competition...
back from a first-half deficit of 31–0 and won a 42–40 victory.
Kosar was interviewed about his time at the University of Miami for the documentary The U
The U (documentary)
The U is a 2009 documentary film produced by Miami based media studio rakontur and directed by Billy Corben. The U covers the rise and dominance of the Miami Hurricanes football team during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
, which premiered December 12, 2009 on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.
NFL Draft controversy
Under National Football LeagueNational Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
rules at the time, only seniors and graduates could be drafted. Kosar, who was scheduled to graduate over the summer from the University of Miami's business school
Business school
A business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in Business Administration. It teaches topics such as accounting, administration, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems, marketing, organizational behavior, public relations, strategy, human resource...
with a double major in finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
and economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, had two years of college eligibility remaining.
At the time, underclassmen had until April 15, 1985, to notify the league about their eligibility for the April 30 regular draft. In January 1985, a Florida television report stated that Kosar had decided to forgo his two years of eligibility and declare for the NFL draft
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
. Kosar denied the report at the time, but added that he would keep his options open. At a March 15 news conference, Kosar announced that he would make himself available for the 1985 NFL Draft
1985 NFL Draft
The 1985 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985...
and that he would like to play for the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in his native Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. After the announcement, both NFL and United States Football League
United States Football League
The United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...
teams were interested and Kosar's agent, Dr. John Geletka, even met with the USFL's commissioner, Harry Usher
Harry Usher
Harry Lester Usher was an American attorney who was the second and last commissioner of the United States Football League . He was also the executive vice president and general manager of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee , which oversaw the business operations of the 1984 Summer Olympics...
to confirm the USFL's interest level.
The Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
held the first pick in the 1985 NFL Draft and signed defensive end
Defensive end
Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...
Bruce Smith out of Virginia Tech
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, popularly known as Virginia Tech , is a public land-grant university with the main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia with other research and educational centers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and internationally.Founded in...
weeks before the draft. On April 9, 1985, Mike Lynn, the general manager of the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
traded two picks to the Houston Oilers
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
to move up to the second spot in the draft in preparation of Kosar's announcement that he would enter the draft.
Later on the same day, Cleveland traded their first round picks in the 1985 NFL Draft (#7) and 1986 NFL Draft
1986 NFL Draft
The 1986 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1986...
, their third round pick in 1985 (#63) and their sixth round pick in 1986 to the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
for their first round pick in the 1986 NFL Draft. Since the Bills had the worst record in the 1984 season, they held the first pick in both the regular NFL draft and the supplemental draft in 1985. When a selection is used in the supplemental draft, that team forfeits the pick in the next regular draft which meant that the Browns could use the Bills 1986 regular draft first round pick as the first pick in the 1985 supplemental draft.
On April 10, NFL spokesman Joe Browne said that if Kosar's paperwork was not received by the April 15 deadline then he would not be eligible for the regular draft on April 30. Browne added that if Kosar later decided to play in the 1985 season, then the league would hold a supplemental draft for Kosar and other eligible players.
Minnesota responded by stating that when Kosar announced he would turn professional, he was, in effect, declaring his intention to enter the draft. They also charged that the Browns and Kosar's agent orchestrated this scenario in order to subvert the NFL's orderly system of drafting players and claim Kosar for themselves. Mike Lynn also stated that since Kosar had hired an agent, he should have automatically lost his college eligibility and become eligible for the regular draft. The Oilers threatened to sue the NFL if Kosar was allowed to skip the regular draft in favor of the supplemental draft and Kosar's agent threatened to sue the NFL if Kosar was forced into the regular draft.
Due to the controversy, on April 12, commissioner Pete Rozelle
Pete Rozelle
Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle was the commissioner of the National Football League from January 1960 to November 1989, when he retired from office. Rozelle is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world....
extended the April 15 eligibility deadline for Kosar alone (who had not officially filed the paperwork for draft eligibility) and called a hearing that would take place on April 16. The four teams (Buffalo, Cleveland, Houston and Minnesota) involved in the two trades presented their case at the hearing.
On April 23, Rozelle announced that he would leave the decision up to Kosar, but permitted Minnesota to persuade Kosar to enter the regular draft with the condition that they could not negotiate a potential contract with him. This led to an April 25 news conference where Kosar announced that he wanted to go home to Ohio as a member of the Cleveland Browns and that he would forgo the regular NFL draft and make himself eligible for the supplemental draft. On May 10, Kosar officially announced his intentions for the supplemental draft in a letter to the commissioner. On June 25, Kosar became officially eligible for the supplemental draft when he took his exam finals and the university notified the NFL front office that he had graduated. On July 3, 1985, the Browns selected Kosar and signed him to a five-year contract that same day.
On a related note, Buffalo tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
for the worst record in 1985 and would have had the first pick in the 1986 draft. Since that pick was traded to Cleveland and it was used for the 1985 supplemental draft, the Bills essentially forfeited the first overall pick in the 1986 draft. The Bills however, still had the rights to Jim Kelly
Jim Kelly
James Edward Kelly is a former American football quarterback in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills and the USFL's Houston Gamblers....
at the time and eventually signed him. The Buccaneers ended up selecting Bo Jackson
Bo Jackson
Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson is a former American baseball and football player. He was the first athlete to be named an All-Star in two major American sports, and also won the Heisman Trophy in 1985....
with the first pick at that draft. Ironically, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also lost the first pick of the 1986 NFL Draft because Bo Jackson refused to sign with them and entered the 1987 NFL Draft. Both the Bills and the Buccaneers lost the opportunity to have the first player in the 1986 draft play for them.
Cleveland Browns
Kosar's choice of the Browns, who were coming off a 5–11 season, made him an immediate fan favorite. His friendliness with fans and on-field performance would make him one of the most popular players in team history.Kosar was not the most athletic man to play quarterback. He was famously immobile and threw with an unwieldy sidearm motion. However, he threw with a high rate of accuracy and rarely forced throws or made bad decisions. In 1990 and 1991, Kosar set a league record by throwing 308 consecutive passes without an interception (a record since surpassed by New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
quarterback Tom Brady
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.He has played in four Super Bowls,...
on December 26, 2010 against the Buffalo Bills).
The Browns intended Kosar to serve as Gary Danielson
Gary Danielson
Gary Danielson is a former professional football player, a quarterback in the National Football League . He played for the Detroit Lions from 1976 to 1984 and for the Cleveland Browns in 1985, 1987, and 1988...
's backup in Kosar's rookie
Rookie
Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...
season, but Danielson injured his shoulder in the fifth week. Kosar completed only half of his passes in the team’s run-oriented offense that year. Nevertheless, the team sneaked into the playoffs with an 8-8 record, losing to the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the divisional playoffs.
Danielson was injured again in the 1986 preseason, and by the time he healed, Kosar had established himself not only as the Browns' permanent starter but as one of the league's top quarterbacks. In a new, passing-focused offense, Kosar threw for 3,854 yards and finished second in the league with 310 completions. The Browns took top seed in the American Football Conference
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
with a 12–4 record. In the divisional playoffs against the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Kosar threw for a playoff-record 489 yards in leading the Browns to a dramatic 23–20 comeback victory in double overtime. Only John Elway
John Elway
John Albert Elway, Jr. is a former American football quarterback and currently is the executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . He played college football at Stanford and his entire professional career with the Denver Broncos...
's famous 98-yard drive in the following week’s AFC championship kept the Browns out of the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
. Nevertheless, the 1986 novelty song "Bernie, Bernie", to the tune of "Louie Louie
Louie Louie
"Louie Louie" is an American rock 'n' roll song written by Richard Berry in 1955. It has become a standard in pop and rock, with hundreds of versions recorded by different artists...
" continued to receive airplay on many Ohio radio stations throughout Kosar's tenure with the Browns.
1987 was Kosar's finest year, statistically. In the strike-shortened season, he completed 62 percent of his passes for 3,033 yards and 22 touchdowns and led the AFC in quarterback rating. In an AFC championship rematch against Elway’s Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Kosar threw for 356 yards and three touchdowns in a 38–33 loss. Kosar also made his only Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
that season.
Kosar spent most of the 1988 season sidelined with injuries but came back to throw for 3,533 yards in 1989. That year, the Browns advanced to the AFC championship for the third time in four years, losing again to the Broncos in Denver.
Kosar's later years in Cleveland were dampened by injuries and dwindling support around him. In 1990, Kosar threw a career-high 15 interceptions as the Browns went 3–13. The following year, he came back to throw for 3,487 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also started the 1990 season by setting an NFL record for consecutive pass attempts without an interception with 286. A broken ankle sidelined him for most of the year in 1992.
In 1991, the Browns hired Bill Belichick
Bill Belichick
William Stephen "Bill" Belichick is an American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. After spending his first 15 seasons in the league as an assistant coach, Belichick got his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1991...
as head coach. Not a big fan of Kosar, Belichick had signed quarterback Vinny Testaverde
Vinny Testaverde
Vincent Frank Testaverde is a former NFL quarterback. Testaverde last played for the Carolina Panthers and had previously played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots. Testaverde holds the NFL record for having...
(Kosar's former college teammate) before the 1993 season. Early in the year, Belichick benched Kosar in favor of Testaverde. An injury to Testaverde returned Kosar to the field.
After a 29–14 loss to Denver in Week 8, the Browns released Kosar. Belichick told a press conference Kosar was suffering from "diminishing skills." The coach was not entirely incorrect as Kosar’s performance had diminished in recent years, but many the Browns fans saw this rejection as an insult, and some came to the next home game in Kosar masks. In David Halberstam's book "The Education of a Coach", the author outlines how Kosar ignored the Browns' coaches play calling during the Denver game, threw a touchdown to WR Michael Jackson after calling his own pass play and then told the press afterwards he'd drawn the play "up in the dirt". Belichick made the decision to release Kosar afterwards, but said years later he had handled the situation badly, and should have arranged for a more orderly transition to the post-Kosar era.
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas CowboysDallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
then signed Kosar to a one-year, $1 million contract to fill in for an injured Troy Aikman
Troy Aikman
Troy Kenneth Aikman is a former American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League. The number one overall draft pick in 1989, Aikman played twelve consecutive seasons as quarterback with the Cowboys...
. Kosar performed well in four games for the Cowboys and earned his only championship ring
Super Bowl ring
The Super Bowl ring is an award in the National Football League given to the winners of the league's annual championship game, the Super Bowl...
as a backup in Super Bowl XXVIII
Super Bowl XXVIII
Super Bowl XXVIII was an American football game played on January 30, 1994, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1993 regular season. The National Football Conference champion Dallas Cowboys defeated the American Football...
. Kosar entered the game in the final play and knelt down to close the victory. A week prior to the Super Bowl, Kosar relieved an injured Aikman in the second half of the NFC championship game against the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
, completing five of nine pass attempts for 83 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.
Miami Dolphins
Kosar spent the final years of his career with the Miami Dolphins as a backup to Dan MarinoDan Marino
Daniel Constantine "Dan" Marino, Jr. is a retired American football quarterback who played for the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League...
. He is perhaps best remembered among Dolphins fans for designing a trick play that helped the Dolphins top the Jets in a crucial game late in 1994. With the clock winding down and the Dolphins trailing by three, Marino pretended to spike the ball
The Clock Play
The Clock Play aka The Fake Spike Game refers to a National Football League game that took place on November 27, between the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets that featured one of the most audacious finishes in league history...
to stop the clock. He then threw the winning touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
pass to Mark Ingram.
Kosar finished his 12-season career with 1,994 completions in 3,365 attempts for 23,301 yards and 124 touchdowns, with 87 interceptions. He also rushed for 265 yards and five touchdowns. He also held the NFL record for most consecutive completed passes without an interception, until December 26, 2010, when Tom Brady
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.He has played in four Super Bowls,...
broke his record.
Retirement and after
Since retiring from football after the 1996 season, Kosar has been involved in several ventures. In 2001, he became part-owner of the Florida PanthersFlorida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and are the...
franchise of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
. In 2004, he opened Bernie’s Steakhouse in South Miami, Florida
South Miami, Florida
South Miami is a Miami suburban city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,741 at the 2000 census and as of 2007, according to the U.S...
. He was also publisher of Bernie’s Insiders, a magazine that covered the Browns; his role ended when it became the Orange and Brown Report at the end of 2005. The Bernie J. Kosar Jr. Charitable Trust, established in 1991, funds programs for children and young adults. Kosar has turned down feelers to run for public office.
Kosar hosted the Nestle/Bernie Kosar Charity Classic at Tanglewood Country Club
Tanglewood Country Club
Tanglewood National Golf Club is a public golf course located in Bainbridge Township, Geauga County, Ohio within the Tanglewood Lake housing development. Tanglewood National Golf Club's 18-hole golf course is lined with houses and condominiums. The mailing address is Chagrin Falls, Ohio but that...
in Bainbridge
Bainbridge, Geauga County, Ohio
Bainbridge is a census-designated place in Geauga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, Bainbridge had a population of 3,417.- History :...
, Ohio throughout the 1990s.
He has four children with his former wife Babette;
As part of a renewed hands-on involvement with his long-time team, Kosar joined the Cleveland Browns pre-season television broadcast team as a color commentator
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
in 2006. He returned as color commentator for the 2007 preseason and has done the color comentary ever since.
There had been talk of Kosar taking the head coaching job at his alma mater, the University of Miami, and Kosar (who currently holds a seat on University of Miami's board of regents
Board of Regents
In the United States, a board often governs public institutions of higher education, which include both state universities and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual colleges and universities, or both. In general they operate as...
) acknowledged that he had considered taking the job before it was ultimately offered to Randy Shannon
Randy Shannon
Randy Lennard Shannon is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Miami from 2007 to 2010. Shannon played football at Miami and then with the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL....
.
On May 21, 2007, it was announced that Kosar would open a Bernie's Steakhouse in Cleveland's Flats East Bank Neighborhood, a $230 million mixed-use project. This steakhouse never opened. Bernie's Steakhouse in Miami had also been closed.
Kosar also purchased a minority share in the Arena Football League's Las Vegas Gladiators in 2007 and announced that the team would move to Cleveland and play under the name Cleveland Gladiators. On October 16, 2007, Kosar was named team president and CEO of the franchise. The Gladiators finished the 2008 regular season 9-7, earning them a playoff berth.
Following the 2008-2009 recession, Kosar and his businesses declared bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
on June 19, 2009, later listing $9.2 million in assets and $18.9 million in debt. Although the initial bankruptcy filing was a Chapter 11 restructuring, the US Bankruptcy Court in Fort Lauderdale ordered the proceeding changed to a Chapter 7 liquidation on January 6, 2010. Under the restructuring Kosar's filings proposed protecting his NFL pension; it is unclear at this time if he will be able to retain his pension under the Chapter 7 proceedings. The case is Bernard J. Kosar Jr., 09-22371, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida (Fort Lauderdale).
On October 17, 2009, Kosar was hired as a consultant for the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
The Geauga County Maple Leaf newspaper, Thursday, July 15, 2010 reported that Kosar was about to lose property in Geauga County, Ohio for unpaid back taxes totaling $173,557.90. In September 2010, the trustees of Auburn Township
Auburn Township, Geauga County, Ohio
Auburn Township is one of the sixteen townships of Geauga County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 5,158 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the southern part of the county, it borders the following townships and city:...
indicated that the township was considering purchasing the land in foreclosure
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgage lender , or other lien holder, obtains a termination of a mortgage borrower 's equitable right of redemption, either by court order or by operation of law...
.
In Pop Culture
In the 2010 book, I Am Number FourI Am Number Four
I Am Number Four is a 2011 American teen action science fiction film, directed by D. J. Caruso, starring Alex Pettyfer, Dianna Agron, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer, Kevin Durand, and Callan McAuliffe...
, by Pittacus Lore, Kosar is referenced by name and as a beagle
Beagle
The Beagle is a breed of small to medium-sized dog. A member of the Hound Group, it is similar in appearance to the Foxhound, but smaller, with shorter legs and longer, softer ears. Beagles are scent hounds, developed primarily for tracking hare, rabbit, and other game...
who protects the main protagonist named after him. In the 2011 film adaptation, a poster of Bernie Kosar depicting him during his football career is shown in the new bedroom of John Smith, the protagonist. As in the book, Smith/Number 4 names his beagle Bernie Kosar.
Regular season
- 3,365 passes attempted
- 1,994 passes completed
- 23,301 passing yards
- 124 passing touchdowns
- 87 passes intercepted
- 81.8 quarterback rating
Post-season
- 269 passes attempted
- 152 passes completed
- 1,918 passing yards
- 17 passing touchdowns
- 11 passes intercepted
- 85.9 quarterback rating