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Today in Patriots History
Vernon Crawford
Vernon Crawford
Five former Patriot players were born on June 25, and they combined to start just one game while with the Pats. That is something to consider as we get overly excited about our 2025 training camp binkies - who eventually land on the scrap heap of history next to Markell Carter or Zach Sudfeld.
Happy 51st birthday to Vernon Crawford
Born June 25, 1974 in Texas City, Texas
Patriot special teamer/linebacker, 1997-1999; uniform #99
Pats fifth round (159th overall) selection of the 1997 draft, from Florida State
Pats résumé: three seasons, 41 games (one start); one postseason game
Vernon Crawford was primarily a special teamer, playing in 41 games with one start over three seasons with the Pats. He appeared in every game his first two seasons; in '98 he had 14 ST tackles and 13 more on defense. Crawford signed with the Packers in 2000, but spent that season on IR. He was also part of two short lived leagues: with the XFL in 2001, and he later played in the AF2 (a lower level of arena football, hence the '2'). Being a linebacker who was used to rushing and pressuring the passer, he wasn’t too enamored with the pace of the play with the Manchester Wolves in his arena ball days. “You can get a clear shot at the QB, but by the time you get there the ball is long gone,”
Vernon Crawford | Combine Results | OLB - Florida State
NFL Scouting Combine and Pro Day scores, percentiles and metrics for Vernon Crawford, OLB, Florida State.
nflcombineresults.com
Crawford remained in the New England area after hanging up his cleats and has coached at Walpole (2002-03 as DC) and Randolph high schools (2004-2008 as DC and HC), Curry College (2009-2011 WR coach) - and with two women's teams, the Boston Militia (2008-2014, DC) and the Boston Renegades (2016-2024, OC and assistant HC). Apparently they were pretty damn good - winning their first four 2021 games by the scores of 62-0, 56-6, 62-0 and 70-0 - and were undefeated for four consecutive seasons while winning five consecutive Women's Football Alliance championships, before finally losing a couple of games last spring. (The Renegades lost the 2024 championship game, and ceased operations wearlier this year.) In his spare time Vernon Crawford has also served as the head football coach at Seekonk High School and Quincy High School, and as an assistant at St Raphael Academy in Rhode Island.
Feb 6, 2005:
Ex-Patriot Vernon Crawford will be rooting for the home team
Vernon Crawford just might be the ultimate New England football player. He played for the New England Patriots for three seasons after the franchise selected him in the fifth round of the 1997 draf…
www.seacoastonline.com
Sept 21, 2016:
Seekonk High School's Vernon Crawford named Patriots High School Coach of the Week -- Patriots.com
Vernon Crawford, Asst. Head Coach and OC – Boston Renegades Football
Vernon Crawford is the Offensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach of the Boston Renegades women's football team.
www.bostonrenegadesfootball.com
Vernon Crawford is a longtime Boston Women’s Football coach. He was Defensive Coordinator for the entire history of the Boston Militia (2008-2014) before joining the Renegades coaching staff in 2016. He helped bring six national championships to the program, and became a member of Boston Women’s Football’s 100 Club in the 2021 season opener, a 62-0 victory over the Detroit Dark Angels.
Crawford is a former linebacker and special teams player for the New England Patriots. After attending Florida State where he was a standout on special teams, Crawford was drafted by the Patriots in 1997. He was named to the NFL All Rookie Special Teams Honorable Mention list that season. Vernon spent three seasons with New England and finished his playing career as a member of the Green Bay Packers.
Since retiring as a player, Vern has amassed extensive experience coaching all phases of the game at the high school and college levels. He was head coach of the Seekonk (Mass.) High School football team and now also coaches at St. Raphael Academy in Rhode Island. Previously, he coached at Curry College and Randolph High School. Crawford also operates the Just D1fferent Academy.
Feb 1, 2019:
The Patriot Way
Former New England Patriots running back Jon Williams was posed the question of whether he could still fit into his No. 44 jersey.
www.thesunchronicle.com
Seekonk High football coach Vernon Crawford was a member of the Patriots during the 1997-99 seasons, when Pete Carroll was head coach. Crawford came under the regime of Bill Belichick when the current Patriot coach made his debut in Foxboro.
“I teach everything the same way, a lot of the things that I learned during my time in Foxboro, I teach at Seekonk High,” Crawford said.
“Pete (Carroll) was a motivator, he was energetic,” Crawford said of Carroll, now coach of the Seattle Seahawks. “Pete was like an assistant coach, running around and firing everybody up — you need that sometimes.”
Crawford, then a linebacker out of Florida State, maintains that becoming a Patriot changed his life.
“To become part of it, being around it now, is very, very special,” he said.
Crawford engages with the Patriots’ Alumni Association, being invited to home games at Gillette Stadium, to Super Bowl parades, to serving as an ambassador of the franchise for many a community service project.
“Bill (Belichick) was in his first year as head coach and I was one of the first guys that he brought into the office,” Crawford recalled. “He asked me how I’d fit into the program, to the team, what I could do to help the team win.
“That was an honor to be asked by him what I could do.”
It’s a special relationship that former Patriot players have with the franchise, all of its success — 11 Super Bowl appearances, five Super Bowl championships.
“Even now, when I might be in Foxboro and I run into Bill, he’s always asking me how my team (Seekonk High) is doing, about coaching football,” Crawford said.
Not every NFL head coach does that, but that’s the “Patriot Way.”
March 31, 2012:
Former N.E. Patriot Crawford named Seekonk HS head football coach
SEEKONK -- Athletic Director Ray Grant claimed elation at Seekonk High School’s hiring of a new varsity football head coach.
www.woonsocketcall.com
Crawford, a grid star from a young age, graduated from Texas City (Tx.) High in 1993, then trekked to the Community College of San Francisco, where he earned his Associate’s in 1995. After that stint, he was recruited by legendary head coach Bobby Bowden to play at Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he helped the Seminoles achieve a No. 3 national ranking as a junior and senior.
He not only played in two Sugar Bowls, but also was selected ESPN Football Commentator Lee Corso’s College Football Special Teams Player of the Year his final season. Crawford earned a Bachelor’s in criminology in 1997, but – just a month before – was drafted in the fifth round by the Patriots.
He was named to the NFL All-Rookie special teams players list that fall. He played three seasons (1997-99) for then-head coach Pete Carroll, recording a total of 32 special teams tackles, but closed his career in Green Bay after suffering a hamstring injury in the home opener against Miami.
“I knew I was hurt, but you just do what you must to remain on the field,” Crawford said. “I tried to play through it, but couldn’t.”
Niv 20, 2023:
A Whole New Ball Game: Former Patriot Vernon Crawford Finds Success Coaching Women's Professional Football -- Patriots.com
Following his NFL career, former Patriots linebacker Vernon Crawford has helped Boston women's professional football win eight National Championships, cementing their place as a bone fide dynasty.
Before Vernon Crawford made a name for himself in New England as a pro football linebacker and eight-time national championship coach, he couldn't point out New England on a map. The 1997 fifth-round draft pick by the Patriots did not know where New England was, nor how much the area would one day become a lasting part of his legacy and a place he'd call home.
Crawford grew up south of Houston in Galveston, Texas, and started playing football at the age of six, instantly becoming a natural on defense. During his formative years, he continued to grow – both physically and in his love for the sport – and went on to play varsity all four years at Texas City High School.
"I really didn't know how good I was until one of my coaches started taking me to different colleges. It went from there when I realized I could play at another level. I started to push myself academically to get there," Crawford said.
The six-foot-three, 230-pound Crawford attended City College of San Francisco and later transferred to Florida State University. A two year starter, he compiled 77 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 11 games his junior year, before hearing his name announced with the 159th overall pick by New England. The feeling of joy Vernon experienced in that moment was quickly followed by confusion.
"I was thinking, New England? I know we don't fly across the sea," said Vernon with a laugh.
A quick geography lesson later and Vernon was on his way to Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Patriots utilized Vernon on special teams and he earned All-Rookie Special Teams Honorable Mention in 1997. Vernon had his most productive season in 1998, with 13 tackles as a linebacker and 14 stops on special teams.
In 2000, Vernon was traded to the Green Bay Packers with the opportunity to start on defense, but a hamstring injury ultimately cut his NFL career short. Crawford transitioned to the XFL and the Arena League, but maintained a strong connection to the Patriots organization and its alumni group.
"It was great. They gave me a jumpstart in life that continued on," said Crawford. "I stayed around here and was embraced by the Patriots alumni. To me, once a Patriot, always a Patriot. Just the support that the Kraft family and the Patriots organization has shown us and showed my family. That's why I haven't left [New England]. I had a choice to go home or stay this way and you know, family is family. I feel blessed to be here and be a part of the organization for life. It's an honor."
After officially retiring as a player in 2004, Crawford channeled his love of football into coaching. It was important for Vernon to find ways to not only stay connected to the sport but to give back to local communities and help foster a younger generation. It was an easy decision for him to find ways to pay that forward.
When Crawford was the wide receivers coach at Curry College in 2008, former Patriots defensive back Derrick Beasley approached Crawford with a unique proposition: help coach a fledgling women's football team.
Women playing football was a new concept to Crawford, but after helping run a tryout camp with the team, he was hooked, never knowing how much women's tackle football in Boston was about to flourish.
"I saw women that wanted to get better and wanted to learn this sport the best they can," Crawford explained.
No one had previously given women an opportunity to learn the sport, groom their skills and develop their knowledge of the game, but Crawford saw their desire and knew he had the tools to help them succeed. Instantly, he was all in. It was a perfect marriage.
"It's not right that they [the Boston Renegades players] didn't get a chance to play in high school. Some of the guys play football because that's just what they're taught [to do]" said Crawford. "These women are trying to get back something they missed, so they have a time clock and it's even faster than the guys, because they don't get a chance to play as many years as some guys play. They're just starting their journey."
Crawford began as the defensive line coach, but held a variety of titles over the next seven years as he assisted the team's coordinators.
Outside of the Renegades, Crawford works as the head coach at Quincy High School. Having had opportunities to coach both men and women, Crawford explained that the biggest difference between the two is how appreciative the women on the Renegades are about the sport. Due to the lack of opportunities growing up, a majority of the women weren't able to play organized tackle football until much later in life. By contrast, some boys start playing Pee-Wee Football at five years old.
