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- First joined Packers April 10, 2001, to head player development department; promoted to running backs coach Jan. 28, 2005, and again named to the position by Mike McCarthy Jan. 17, 2006.
- Spent four seasons (2001-04) helping players become acclimated to their roles as Green Bay Packers as director of player development. His efforts were recognized in 2003 when his department was named best in the NFC.
- The Packers' fourth-round selection in the 1992 draft, is the ninth-ranked rusher in Packers history, with 3,353 yards over his five seasons (1992-96). In 1995, became only the fifth player in team annals to rush for 1,000 yards in a season (1,067) and the first since Terdell Middleton in 1978.
- Continues to hold the club single-season record for receptions by a running back with 78, set in 1994.
- A first-team all-state back at Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville, was a teammate of former Packers safety LeRoy Butler, who later would be his teammate at Florida State and in Green Bay.
- Was inducted into both the Green Bay Packers and Florida State Athletic halls of fame in 2005.
- In 2003 created the Edgar Bennett Celebrity Bowl-A-Thon, an event that brings together Packers players, coaches and staff to raise funds for charity.
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Edgar Bennett
Running Backs
Fifth Season as NFL Coach
Ninth Packers Season
Edgar Bennett begins his 17th NFL season in 2009, his 15th in Green Bay and fifth as the Packers' running backs coach.
Named to his position Jan. 17, 2006, by Head Coach Mike McCarthy, Bennett originally was promoted to his current role Jan. 28, 2005. He continues his "third" Green Bay tour after initially re-joining the club to head player development (2001-04) and, earlier, a tenure as one of the most productive running backs in Green Bay history (1992-96).
In 2008, Bennett oversaw the continued development of Ryan Grant, who became just the fourth running back in team history to eclipse 1,200 yards in one year, and he did so despite battling a hamstring injury in the early stages of the season.
Grant had rapidly developed the previous year, his first with the Packers, upon coming to the team in a trade at the end of training camp. Quickly brought up to speed under Bennett's tutelage, Grant emerged from a backfield-by-committee to become the starter at midseason, went on to rush for nearly 1,000 yards (including five 100-yard performances), and then set Green Bay postseason records with 203 yards and three touchdowns in a playoff victory over Seattle.
Bennett also has helped develop young ascending players in Brandon Jackson and DeShawn Wynn, 2007 draft choices who have shown strong signs of potential - each posting a 100-yard rushing game - in their first two seasons. The progress of the running back group as a whole has the Packers in much better shape depth-wise than two years ago, when it was uncertain how the team would replace six-time 1,000-yard rusher Ahman Green.
In 2006, Bennett oversaw the strong recovery from a torn quadriceps tendon by Green, whose sixth 1,000-yard season set a franchise record.
In his first season as a full-time coach in 2005, Bennett saw the team start five halfbacks and feature six after season-ending injuries claimed Green and Najeh Davenport (ankle). A rib injury also sidelined No. 3 back Tony Fisher for two games.
Faced with steep adversity, Bennett took a non-drafted player fresh off the practice squad, Samkon Gado, and guided him to the second-most productive season by a rookie running back in franchise history. Gado, who had started only two games at Liberty University, ran for 582 yards, including three 100-yard games.
Although technically new to the coaching ranks in 2005, Bennett was no stranger to the craft as he spent 2001-04 assisting with Green Bay's backs and providing sideline support when not serving as a player mentor.
Initially joining the club as its director of player development April 10, 2001, Bennett helped players become acclimated to their roles as Green Bay Packers, both on and off the field, especially in terms of their expected contributions to their teammates, the community and team chemistry. Bennett's efforts in this area were recognized in 2003 as the Packers' player development department was named the best in the NFC.
The 40-year-old Bennett, earlier Green Bay's fourth-round draft selection in 1992, is the ninth-ranked rusher in Packers history. The former Florida State athlete gained 3,353 yards over his five seasons in green and gold (1992-96). In 1995, he became only the fifth player in team annals to rush for 1,000 yards in a season (1,067), the first since Terdell Middleton in 1978. He also continues to hold the club single-season record for receptions by a running back with 78, set in 1994. His accomplishments were appropriately honored in 2005 upon his induction into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.
After a torn Achilles' heel suffered in the Packers' 1997 preseason opener ended his season, a successfully rehabbed Bennett signed with Chicago as an unrestricted free agent in 1998 and led the Bears in rushing that season with 611 yards. After one more season with Chicago, Bennett retired from football in 2000.
A four-year starter at fullback for Florida State (1987, 1989-91), Bennett holds a bachelor's degree in social science, with a primary emphasis in political science and a secondary emphasis in sociology. Previously, he was a first-team all-state back at Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville, where he played with former Packers safety LeRoy Butler, who later also would be his teammate at FSU and in Green Bay. Bennett was inducted into the Florida State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.
Born Edgar Bennett III in Jacksonville, Fla., he and his wife, Mindy, have a son, Edgar IV, 14, and a daughter, Elyse Morgan, 9, and live in Green Bay. In 2003, he created the Edgar Bennett Celebrity Bowl-A-Thon, an event that brings together Packers players, coaches and staff. In recent years, the event has supported the Angel Fund for Children with Cancer, a foundation that gives financial and social support to local families whose children are receiving treatments for cancer or bone marrow failure. The '06 competition, which raised $58,500, saw a local sponsor roll a perfect game. In its initial year, the Bowl-A-Thon supported the March of Dimes. In May 2006, Bennett received the "Nice Guy Award" at the Doug Jirschele Sports Awards Banquet in Clintonville, Wis.
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