Russ Purnell is the special teams coach

Coach (sport)

In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

 of 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...

 Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. He is one of only 21 NFL assistant coaches who have won at least one Super Bowl championship with 2 different teams (Baltimore and Indianapolis).

Playing career

Russ Purnell played center at Orange Coast College

Orange Coast College

Orange Coast College is a community college in Orange County, California. It was founded in 1947, with its first classes opening in the fall of 1948. It provides two-year associate of art and science degrees, certificates of achievement, and lower-division classes transferable to other colleges...

 and transferred to Whittier College

Whittier College

Whittier College is a private liberal arts college in Whittier, California. As of January 2009, the college has approximately 1540 enrolled students.-Overview:...

, where he graduated with a business degree and served as a graduate assistant from 1970-71.

Coaching career

Russ Purnell began his coaching career at Corona del Mar High School in 1972 and coached at Edison High from 1973-81. He joined the Southern California staff as special teams and tight ends coach from 1982-85. Purnell spent four seasons (1995–98) with the Houston/Tennessee Oilers after serving nine seasons (1986–94) with the Seattle Seahawks. With Seattle, Purnell was tight ends/assistant special teams coach in 1987 before taking over the special teams and tight ends in 1992. Purnell spent three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens as special teams coordinator. Under Purnell’s leadership, kicker Matt Stover made the Pro Bowl in 2000, while kick returner Jermaine Lewis was tabbed for the honor in 2001. Stover connected on 93 of 107 field goals from 1999–2001, an 86.9% conversation rate. Lewis had an 84-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the Super Bowl XXXV win against the New York Giants. Punter Kyle Richardson led the NFL in punts inside the 20 in 1999 and 2000. Baltimore led the NFL with a 14.8-yard punt return average in 2000, while Lewis (36-16.1 avg.) had the highest seasonal average for any player with 30-plus returns in NFL history and had two returns for touchdowns against the New York Jets. Purnell served as special teams coach for the Indianapolis Colts under Tony Dungy from 2002-08. In 2008, Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri connected on 20 of 25 field goals and produced a 13th consecutive 100-plus point season. Punter Hunter Smith recorded 23 punts inside the 20 out of his 53 punts. In 2007, T.J. Rushing tied the franchise record with a 90-yard punt return touchdown. In 2006, Vinatieri hit 25 of 28 field goals and all 38 PATs for 113 points as the club’s field goal percentage ranked in the top five in the NFL. Terrence Wilkins served as the punt and kick returner for the Colts in 2006 and turned in an 82-yard punt return. The Colts kickoff return unit ranked 8th in the NFL in 2004 and in 2005 the team’s coverage units ranked 5th in kickoff return average and seventh in punt return average. Under Purnell’s guidance, kicker Mike Vanderjagt (217/248, 87.5 pct.) became the most accurate field goal kicker in NFL history, and he set the NFL record with 42 consecutive field goals from 2002-04. In hitting all 37 field goal attempts in 2003, Vanderjagt posted only the fourth perfect season in NFL history, while earning his first Pro Bowl bid. Vanderjagt earned the Pro Football Weekly Golden Toe Award, the third time in Purnell’s career he tutored the award’s winner (Tuten, Seattle, 1994; Stover, Baltimore, 2000).

Special Teams Pro Bowlers under Russ Purnell

• Rick Tuten
  Rick Tuten
  Richard Lamar Tuten is a former American football punter in the National Football League who played the majority of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. He punted the ball 108 times in 1992, tied for fourth-most in a season in NFL history. In 1992, he punted for 4,760 yards with an average of...
  
  - 1994
• John Henry Mills
  John Henry Mills
  John Henry Mills was an American football running back, linebacker and tight end in the NFL for the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders and the Minnesota Vikings. Mills was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 1996 season as a special teams captain. He played college football at Wake Forest University...
  
  - 1996
• Craig Hentrich
  Craig Hentrich
  Craig Hentrich is a former American football punter. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame.Hentrich has also played for the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans....
  
  - 1998
• Matt Stover
  Matt Stover
  John Matthew "Matt" Stover is a former American Football placekicker. As of the start of the 2009 NFL season, he was the third most accurate kicker in the history of the National Football League. He is of Greek origin. He has played for the New York Giants, the Cleveland Browns, and the Baltimore...
  
  - 2000
• Jermaine Lewis
  Jermaine Lewis
  Jermaine Edward Lewis is a retired American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He was originally drafted in the fifth round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, who he played for until 2001...
  
  - 2001
• Mike Vanderjagt
  Mike Vanderjagt
  Michael John "Mike" Vanderjagt , is a professional American and Canadian football placekicker and punter who has played in the Arena Football League, the Canadian Football League and National Football League...
  
  - 2003
• Montell Owens
  Montell Owens
  Montell Ernest Owens is an American football fullback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was signed by the Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Maine. He was listed in the Top 200 Players in the NFL Today by NFL Power Rankings 2011...
  
  - 2010

External links

• Colts' bio page