John Sesoga Timu (born August 27, 1992) is an American football coach and former linebacker who is a defensive assistant coach of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Washington before signing with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He also played one season for the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football.
 Timu with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2021 | |||||||
| Atlanta Falcons | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive assistant | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | August 27, 1992 Long Beach, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 245 lb (111 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Jordan (Long Beach, California) | ||||||
| College: | Washington | ||||||
| Undrafted: | 2015 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| As a player: | |||||||
| As a coach: | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Early life
editBorn and raised in Long Beach, California to Samoan American parents, Timu attended Jordan High School in Long Beach.[1] Rated the 61st overall safety prospect by scout.com, Timu committed to Washington, where he played linebacker from 2011 to 2014. He played in 51 games at Washington, recording 328 tackles, 4 sacks, 6 interceptions, 4 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries.[2] Timu was voted honorable mention All-Pac-12 Conference following his senior season in 2014 after he recorded 108 tackles, 2 pass breakups, 2 interceptions and one defensive touchdown.[3]
Professional career
editOn May 2, 2015, Timu signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent following the conclusion of the 2015 NFL draft.[4] On October 6, 2015, Timu was cut from the team. However, days later, he was resigned to the practice squad.[5] On December 15, 2015, Timu was promoted to the 53-man roster.[6] Timu recorded his first career fumble recovery (Timu had a second one in the same game for a career high of two fumble recoveries) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 27, 2015.[7][8] He ended the year with 25 tackles and two fumble recoveries.[9]
On September 3, 2016, Timu was released by the Bears as part of final roster cuts.[10] He was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on September 27, 2016.[11]
On September 2, 2017, Timu was waived by the Bears and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[12][13] He was promoted to the active roster on September 23, 2017.[14]
On March 20, 2018, Timu re-signed with the Bears.[15] He was released on September 1, 2018.[16]
Timu was signed by the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) on March 13, 2019. The league ceased operations in April 2019.[17]
Coaching career
editUniversity of Washington Huskies
editIn September 2019, Timu retired from playing football and was hired by Washington head coach Chris Petersen to start his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater.[18]
Los Angeles Chargers
editAfter spending two years as a graduate assistant for Washington, Timu was hired by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2021 as a coaching fellow, assisting with the defensive staff, particularly the defensive line and linebackers. This move reunited Timu with former Chicago Bears outside linebackers coach Brandon Staley, who was in his first year as the Chargers head coach. Timu was promoted to defensive assistant in 2022, and promoted again to assistant defensive line coach in 2023.[3]
Atlanta Falcons
editOn February 3, 2024, TIMU was hired to be a defensive assistant for the Atlanta Falcons. Timu joins Jay Rodgers who was hired as the Falcons defensive line coach after previously being the defensive run game coordinator/defensive line coach for the Chargers.[19]
References
edit- ^ Bell, Gregg (April 10, 2013). "Unleashed: John Timu, And How We View Football Players". University of Washington. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
- ^ "John Timu - Football".
- ^ a b "John Timu". Archived from the original on September 21, 2023.
- ^ "NFL Draft: Washington LB John Timu Signs with the Chicago Bears". uwdawgpound.com. May 2, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
- ^ "NFL Transactions | October 2015 All Transactions". www.foxsports.com. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
- ^ "Bears promote Timu, waive Hood". www.chicagobears.com. Retrieved December 16, 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Turnovers the key in Bears' 26-21 win over Bucs". Daily Herald. December 27, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
- ^ "Fox impressed with Cutler's outing". www.chicagobears.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
- ^ Mayer, Larry (February 10, 2016). "Position focus on Bears linebackers". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on February 11, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ^ Mayer, Larry (September 3, 2016). "Bears trim 22 to reach 53-man limit". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017.
- ^ Mayer, Larry. "Bears ink Joique Bell, put Fuller on IR". ChicagoBears.com. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- ^ Mayer, Larry (September 2, 2017). "Bears reach NFL's 53-man roster limit". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2018.
- ^ Mayer, Larry (September 4, 2017). "Bears sign Jenkins, nine to practice squad". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017.
- ^ "Bears promote LB John Timu to active roster, waive WR Tre McBride". USAToday.com. September 23, 2017.
- ^ Alper, Josh (March 20, 2018). "Bears re-sign John Timu". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com.
- ^ Mayer, Larry (September 1, 2018). "Bears announce 53-man roster". ChicagoBears.com.
- ^ Rothstein, Michael; Wickersham, Seth (June 13, 2019). "Inside the short, unhappy life of the Alliance of American Football". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- ^ Robbins, Ruth (September 3, 2019). "Petersen adds Two New Assistants to Husky Football Staff". Realdawg.com. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
- ^ Williams, Charean (February 3, 2024). "Falcons announce six more assistants, including Tim Berbenich, Ken Zampese". nbcsports.com. Retrieved February 4, 2024.