Patrick Travis Swilling (born October 25, 1964) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the New Orleans Saints, Detroit Lions, and the Oakland Raiders. He had five Pro Bowl appearances in his NFL career and was the Associated Press (AP) NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1991. He served from 2001 to 2004 as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives.
| No. 56 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker Defensive end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | October 25, 1964 Toccoa, Georgia, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 245 lb (111 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Toccoa (GA) Stephens County | ||||||||
| College: | Georgia Tech | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1986 / round: 3 / pick: 60 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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College career
editSwilling played for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. He set the NCAA record for sacks in a game, with seven against North Carolina State and the Georgia Tech mark for sacks in a season (15). Voted first-team All-America in 1985, Swilling left Georgia Tech as the all-time sack leader and now ranks 5th.[1]
Professional career
editThe New Orleans Saints drafted Swilling in the third round of the 1986 NFL Draft.[2] The Saints fielded fierce defenses in 1991 and 1992, led by the best linebacker unit in the history of the league.[3] In 1991, he had 17 sacks and was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year. In 1992, linebackers Rickey Jackson, Vaughan Johnson, Sam Mills, and Swilling, also known as the Dome Patrol, all played in the Pro Bowl, and the Saints led the league in quarterback sacks. Despite its tenacious defense, the team lost in the first round each time it made the playoffs during this time.
Swilling was traded to the Detroit Lions in 1993 for draft picks. In order to sign him, Detroit had to "unretire" the legendary Joe Schmidt’s number 56. In his first year with Detroit he made it to his fifth and final Pro Bowl. The Detroit Lions qualified for the playoffs in both of Swilling's seasons with the team, being eliminated each time, in the first round, by the Green Bay Packers. He signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Raiders in April of 1995. He finished his career with 107.5 sacks.[4][5]
Swilling lost all six playoff games he played in; no other player in NFL history has more losses, in the postseason, without a win.[6]
NFL career statistics
edit| Legend | |
|---|---|
| NFL Defensive Player of the Year | |
| Led the league | |
| NFL record | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Int | Yds | TD | FF | FR | ||
| 1986 | NO | 16 | 0 | 26 | – | – | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1987 | NO | 12 | 12 | 49 | – | – | 10.5 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 1988 | NO | 15 | 14 | 51 | – | – | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 1989 | NO | 16 | 15 | 56 | – | – | 16.5 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 1990 | NO | 16 | 16 | 63 | – | – | 11.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 1991 | NO | 16 | 16 | 60 | – | – | 17.0 | 1 | 39 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| 1992 | NO | 16 | 16 | 49 | – | – | 10.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 1993 | DET | 14 | 14 | 29 | – | – | 6.5 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 1994 | DET | 16 | 7 | 28 | 21 | 7 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1995 | OAK | 16 | 16 | 36 | 31 | 5 | 13.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 1996 | OAK | 16 | 16 | 26 | 21 | 5 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1998 | OAK | 16 | 0 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Career | 185 | 142 | 490 | 85 | 22 | 107.5 | 6 | 79 | 1 | 36 | 11 | |
Personal life
editSwilling was a professional football player from 1986 to 1998. In 2001, he won a special election as a Democrat to the Louisiana House for District 100 in New Orleans. He served for three years with assignments on the House Education, Retirement, and Transportation committees.[7] He lost his bid for a full term as representative in the 2003 runoff election to his fellow Democrat Austin Badon, who polled 6,688 votes (53.3 percent) to Swilling's 5,851 (46.7 percent).[8]
On April 30, 2009, Swilling was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. He is currently a real estate developer in New Orleans. His son, Pat Swilling Jr. signed to play basketball at the University of Tulsa on May 24, 2012.[9] Two of his sons, Bruce Jordan-Swilling and Tre Swilling, play on the Georgia Tech football team. As of the 2020–2021 season, Bruce is a senior linebacker and Tre is a redshirt junior defensive back.[10][11]
Swilling's son, Tre Swilling currently plays for the Baltimore Ravens.[12]
References
edit- ^ "Georgia Tech Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on September 27, 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2007.
- ^ "1986 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
- ^ "Top Ten Linebackers". NFL.com. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 5, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/12/sports/pat-swilling-signs-with-the-raiders.html
- ^ "Schefter's 10 Spot: Packers, Bears are good -- and lucky". ESPN.com. January 21, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
- ^ "Louisiana: Swilling, Patrick", Who's Who in American Politics, 2003-2004, 19th ed., Vol. 1 (Alabama-Montana) (Marquis Who's Who: New Providence, New Jersey, 2003), p. 796
- ^ "Election Results". Louisiana Secretary of State. November 15, 2003. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
- ^ "Tulsa's Manning Signs JUCO Star Pat Swilling, Jr. - Tulsa Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
- ^ "Tre Swilling". Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. June 19, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
- ^ "Bruce Jordan-Swilling". Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. June 19, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
- ^ Geitheim, Eva (September 16, 2023). "Pat Swilling's son set for NFL debut with 49ers after wild journey". Clutch Points. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
