40 Facts About Neil O'Donnell

Neil Kennedy O'Donnell was born on July 3,1966 and is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League for 14 seasons.

Neil O'Donnell played college football for the Maryland Terrapins and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 1990 NFL draft.

Neil O'Donnell spent his last five seasons mostly as a backup with the Tennessee Titans.

Neil Kennedy O'Donnell was born on July 3,1966, in Morristown, New Jersey, and grew up in Madison, New Jersey, where he played high school football at Madison High School.

Stephen Neil O'Donnell was an All-State quarterback who went on to play for Duke.

Coach Monica had retired by the time Neil O'Donnell enrolled at Madison High School, but mentored him throughout much of his young football life.

Neil O'Donnell was the star of the Dodgers varsity team as a sophomore and junior, but the team won just three games in those two seasons.

At the University of Maryland, College Park, Neil O'Donnell redshirted the 1986 season, then played for the Terrapins for three seasons and was the starting quarterback in the 1988 and 1989 seasons.

Neil O'Donnell played under head coach Joe Krivak, who was promoted from quarterback coach after Bobby Ross left the program in 1986.

The Krivak era was marked by mediocre results and the Neil O'Donnell years featured an especially tough out-of-conference schedule.

Neil O'Donnell was backed up by QB Scott Zolak, who pushed O'Donnell for playing time during both of his seasons as a starter.

Neil O'Donnell was awarded the Ray Krouse Award for Maryland team MVP in 1989, and finished his Maryland career with 26 touchdown passes, 3 rushing touchdowns, and 5,069 total yards.

Neil O'Donnell was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 70th overall pick in the 1990 NFL draft.

Neil O'Donnell's first ever NFL completion was an 89 yard touchdown pass to Dwight Stone.

Neil O'Donnell continued to start sporadically in place of Brister due to poor play.

Neil O'Donnell finished 1991 with a completion percentage of 54.5 for 1,963 yards, 11 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.

Neil O'Donnell scored three touchdowns, two passing and one rushing, completed 17 of 24 passes for 215 yards and only committed one turnover.

Neil O'Donnell followed up this season by throwing for 2,443 yards, 13 touchdowns, and nine interceptions as he led his team to a playoff berth yet again.

On September 3,1995, Neil O'Donnell led the Steelers to a Week 1 win over the Detroit Lions, throwing seven completions on 10 attempts for 63 yards, but failed to score a touchdown.

Neil O'Donnell threw his first touchdown of the season during the game on an 18 yard pass to running back Steve Avery.

Neil O'Donnell threw for 377 yards, completed 24-of-31 passes, and threw three touchdowns in what would be his fourth game of the season throwing for multiple touchdowns.

Neil O'Donnell threw a five yard touchdown pass to Kordell Stewart in his only score of the game.

Infamously, Neil O'Donnell threw two nearly identical interceptions to Dallas Cowboys cornerback Larry Brown that set up short touchdown drives in the second half.

Neil O'Donnell tacked on a third interception as well late in the game.

Neil O'Donnell was not re-signed to the team following his Super Bowl performance, making him a free agent at the end of the season.

Neil O'Donnell was named the Jets' starting quarterback going into the 1996 season.

Neil O'Donnell's first outing with the team was a far cry from his tenure with the Steelers, throwing just seven completions of 13 attempts for 50 yards and an interception.

Neil O'Donnell's performance improved the following season under new head coach Bill Parcells.

Neil O'Donnell led the Jets to a Week 1 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in which he completed 18-of-25 passes for 270 yards and five touchdowns.

Neil O'Donnell eventually fell out of favor with Parcells and lost his starting job to Glenn Foley.

Neil O'Donnell refused to re-negotiate his contract, which paid him $6.65 million for the upcoming season, Parcells chose to waive Neil O'Donnell.

On July 7,1998, Neil O'Donnell signed a 4-year, $17 million contract with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Neil O'Donnell was released at the end of the season to make room for rookie quarterback Akili Smith.

On July 24,1999, Neil O'Donnell signed a multi-year contract with the Tennessee Titans, where he served as Steve McNair's backup.

Neil O'Donnell performed well, winning four of his five starts for an injured McNair in 1999, leaving a perennial.

Neil O'Donnell retired after the 2002 season, but was talked into coming back for one game in December 2003 when McNair and Billy Volek were injured.

Neil O'Donnell ended his career with the lowest interception percentage in NFL history, averaging just 2.11 interceptions for every 100 pass attempts.

Neil O'Donnell wore number 14 during most of his career except during his one-year stint with the Bengals, where he wore number 12.

Neil O'Donnell found work as a sports analyst, primarily covering the Titans at WTVF, Nashville's CBS affiliate.

Neil O'Donnell is currently a sales representative for FieldTurf in Kentucky and Tennessee.