Pete Metzelaars
Encyclopedia
Peter Henry Metzelaars is a former American football
tight end
who played for the Seattle Seahawks
, Buffalo Bills
, Carolina Panthers
, and Detroit Lions
in a sixteen-year career in the National Football League
. Mezelaars is the current assistant offensive line coach for the Indianapolis Colts
.
in Portage, Michigan
, and played college football at Wabash College
, graduating from Wabash in 1982. While at Wabash, he played for an undefeated football team, while also leading the basketball team to the NCAA Division III national championship. In football, he was coached by Stan Parrish
, the current head football coach at Ball State University, and Stan also served as head coach at Marshall and Kansas State as well as being an assistant NFL coach for the Super Bowl winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers
after leaving Wabash.
in the 1982 NFL Draft
. He played for three seasons in Seattle before being traded to the Bills
in 1985. When Jim Kelly
joined the Bills in 1986, Metzelaars became a productive part of the offense. He played with the Bills in their 4 Super Bowl
losses from 1990–1994, and scored a touchdown in Super Bowl XXVI
. Metzelaars' best season was in 1993, when he caught 68 passes for 609 yards and 4 touchdowns.
He was not re-signed by the Bills after the 1994 season. He signed a three year, 2.4 million deal. to play with the Carolina Panthers. He caught the first touchdown pass in Carolina franchise history, but only played one season for them. He finished his career by playing two seasons for the Detroit Lions.
Metzelaars finished his 16 NFL seasons with 383 receptions
for 3,686 yards and 29 touchdown
s in 235 games. At the time of his retirement, his 235 games were the most ever played by a tight end in NFL history.
as an assistant offensive coach but also served in NFL Europe with Barcelona
during the off-season. He also was an intern with the Indianapolis Colts
during their 2003 training camp, assisting with the tight ends under Offensive Coordinator
Tom Moore
. In 2004, Metzelaars joined the Colts staff full-time as the offensive quality control coach.
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...
tight end
Tight end
The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
who played for the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
, 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...
, Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
, and Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
in a sixteen-year career 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...
. Mezelaars is the current assistant offensive line coach for the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
.
High school and college
He played high school football at Portage Central High SchoolPortage Central High School
-History:The building of the original high school building was completed in 1922. This building soon became obsolete, and is now the Portage Public Schools administration building. A new school was constructed during the 1940s and began use in 1949 that is still in use today as of 2010...
in Portage, Michigan
Portage, Michigan
Portage is a city in Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 46,292 at the 2010 census. It is the smaller of the two main cities included in the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 326,589 as of 2010.Portage is adjacent to the...
, and played college football at Wabash College
Wabash College
Wabash College is a small, private, liberal arts college for men, located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Morehouse College, Wabash is one of only three remaining traditional all-men's liberal arts colleges in the United States.-History:Wabash College was founded...
, graduating from Wabash in 1982. While at Wabash, he played for an undefeated football team, while also leading the basketball team to the NCAA Division III national championship. In football, he was coached by Stan Parrish
Stan Parrish
Stan Parrish is an American football coach and former player. Most recently, he was the head coach at Ball State University from 2009 to 2010. Parrish was previously head coach at Wabash College, Marshall University and Kansas State University. He has been an offensive coordinator at Ball State...
, the current head football coach at Ball State University, and Stan also served as head coach at Marshall and Kansas State as well as being an assistant NFL coach for the Super Bowl winning 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...
after leaving Wabash.
NFL career
He was taken in the 3rd round with the 75th pick by SeattleSeattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
in the 1982 NFL Draft
1982 NFL Draft
The 1982 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 27–28, 1982...
. He played for three seasons in Seattle before being traded to the 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...
in 1985. When 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....
joined the Bills in 1986, Metzelaars became a productive part of the offense. He played with the Bills in their 4 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...
losses from 1990–1994, and scored a touchdown in Super Bowl XXVI
Super Bowl XXVI
Super Bowl XXVI was an American football game played on January 26, 1992 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota to decide the National Football League champion following the 1991 regular season...
. Metzelaars' best season was in 1993, when he caught 68 passes for 609 yards and 4 touchdowns.
He was not re-signed by the Bills after the 1994 season. He signed a three year, 2.4 million deal. to play with the Carolina Panthers. He caught the first touchdown pass in Carolina franchise history, but only played one season for them. He finished his career by playing two seasons for the Detroit Lions.
Metzelaars finished his 16 NFL seasons with 383 receptions
Reception (American football)
In American football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage is received by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. Yards gained from the receiving play are credited to the player as receiving...
for 3,686 yards and 29 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:...
s in 235 games. At the time of his retirement, his 235 games were the most ever played by a tight end in NFL history.
Coaching
After retiring, Metzelaars moved into the coaching ranks as the offensive coordinator at Charlotte Christian School from 1998-2002. In 2003, Metzelaars joined Wingate UniversityWingate University
Wingate University was founded by Baptists in 1896 as Wingate School, an independent, co-educational institution and became a four-year college in 1977. In 1996, Wingate College became Wingate University....
as an assistant offensive coach but also served in NFL Europe with Barcelona
Barcelona Dragons
The Barcelona Dragons were a team originally in the World League of American Football and later in the resurrected NFL Europe. Their home field in Barcelona was the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuic, the 1992 Olympic Stadium, and later the Mini Estadi. The Dragons were successful on the field, making it...
during the off-season. He also was an intern with the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
during their 2003 training camp, assisting with the tight ends under Offensive Coordinator
Offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
Tom Moore
Tom Moore (football coach)
Tom Moore is a football coach, currently working as an offensive consultant for the NFL's New York Jets.-Early life:...
. In 2004, Metzelaars joined the Colts staff full-time as the offensive quality control coach.