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33 Facts About Darren Perry

1.

Darren Perry was born on December 29,1968 and is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League.

2.

Darren Perry played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1988 to 1991.

3.

Darren Perry played in the NFL for eight seasons, seven with the Steelers, but with the San Diego Chargers, Baltimore Ravens, and New Orleans Saints.

4.

Since retiring, Perry has served as a defensive backs and safeties coach at the professional level with the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders, and Green Bay Packers and the Vegas Vipers of the XFL.

5.

Darren Perry attended Deep Creek High School in Chesapeake, Virginia, where he played football, basketball and tennis.

6.

Darren Perry played on both sides of the ball for the football team, and threw for 23 touchdowns and 2,790 yards as quarterback, adding another 14 touchdowns and 1,167 yards rushing.

7.

Darren Perry was named an All-Star in the Southeastern District and made second team All State.

8.

In 2007, Darren Perry was recognized by the Deep Creek High School Alumni Association as one of the top Distinguished Notable Alumni.

9.

Darren Perry played as a free safety under Joe Paterno at Penn State.

10.

Darren Perry was named a first-team All-American as a senior in 1991 by the Football Writers Association of America.

11.

Darren Perry is tied for the second-most career interceptions at the school, with 15.

12.

Darren Perry had six interceptions in his senior year and returned two for touchdowns.

13.

Darren Perry appeared on the cover of the November 26,1990 issue of Sports Illustrated following Penn State's defeat of top-ranked Notre Dame.

14.

Darren Perry intercepted a pass late in the game that set up the game-winning field goal.

15.

An eighth-round draft pick of the 1992 NFL draft, Darren Perry was picked by Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher.

16.

Darren Perry was named the winner of the 1992 Charles Edward Greene, aka the "Joe Greene" Great Performance Award, given to the most outstanding Steelers rookie.

17.

Darren Perry is the only free safety to receive this award since it was established in 1984.

18.

Darren Perry started in each of the first 110 games of his career, including the postseason, all with the Steelers.

19.

Darren Perry played 64 games paired with Pro Bowler Rod Woodson in the secondary from 1992 to 1996.

20.

Darren Perry signed with the San Diego Chargers in 1999, but sat out the season with a neck injury.

21.

Darren Perry played his final season in 2000 with the New Orleans Saints, starting all 16 regular season games and recording three interceptions.

22.

Darren Perry retired having played in 139 of 141 possible games.

23.

Darren Perry missed only two games in 1997 due to a groin injury.

24.

Darren Perry had a career total of 35 interceptions, one interception returned for a touchdown, four forced fumbles, eight fumbles recovered, and two and a half sacks.

25.

Darren Perry coached defensive backs for the Steelers from 2003 to 2006, and helped develop two outstanding Steelers safeties, All-Pro Troy Polamalu and Chris Hope.

26.

The Steelers won Super Bowl XL in 2005 while Darren Perry was on staff.

27.

Darren Perry resigned from the Steelers coaching staff after the retirement of head coach Bill Cowher.

28.

Darren Perry spent two seasons with the team and coached Pro Bowl player Nnamdi Asomugha.

29.

Darren Perry was secondary coach on the 2010 Packers squad that won Super Bowl XLV over the Steelers.

30.

Darren Perry was officially hired by the Vegas Vipers on September 13,2022.

31.

Darren Perry later convinced others to match his contributions, making each interception worth as much as $2,500.

32.

Darren Perry was honored by the city of Chesapeake as The Chesapeake ICON 2022 Hometown Hero with a letter of recognition from the Office of the Mayor.

33.

Darren Perry was nominated on August 30,2022, to the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.