Former Vikings defensive lineman Sharrif Floyd will be a full-time NFL coach for the first time this season. He's joining the Dallas Cowboys as their assistant defensive line/defensive quality control coach under Mike McCarthy and Dan Quinn, according to ESPN.
This is a cool opportunity for Floyd, who worked with the Cowboys last summer as part of the Bill Walsh Fellowship. In the fall, he worked as a student assistant at his alma mater, the University of Florida, for the second straight year. Floyd was previously the defensive coordinator at Ben Franklin High School in Philadelphia.
Floyd was a star defensive tackle at Florida, breaking out as a first team All-American during his junior season in 2012. He was drafted 23rd overall by the Vikings the following year and recorded 9.5 sacks in 43 games (24 starts) over his first three seasons. Unfortunately, Floyd missed most of the 2016 season with a knee injury and suffered nerve damage from an allegedly botched surgery that season, which wound up ending his career prematurely. He sued Dr. James Andrews in 2018.
After a couple years coaching at the high school ranks, Floyd went back to Florida to finish his undergraduate degree and took strides as a coach under Dan Mullen. Now, after impressing the Cowboys during last year's training camp, he's a full-time assistant coach. Floyd turns 32 years old this year.
It's great to see Floyd — who has been through a lot of adversity in his life — thriving in this next stage of his career.
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