Danny White

Wilford Daniel "Danny" White (born February 9, 1952 in Mesa, Arizona) is a former quarterback and punter for the Dallas Cowboys, an American football coach in the Arena Football League and also occasionally appears as an analyst on broadcasts of college football games. He was named the head coach of the Arena Football League expansion Utah Blaze, which began play in 2006. Prior to that, he served as the head coach of the Arizona Rattlers from 1992 to 2004, winning the ArenaBowl championship in 1994 and 1997. White's contract was not renewed by the new Rattlers ownership after the 2004 season following three consecutive ArenaBowl losses. In his first season coaching the Blaze, he led the team to a 7-9 record and a playoff berth where Utah fell to Arizona 57-34.

Playing career

A graduate of Mesa Westwood High School in Mesa, Arizona, White had a stellar career as a quarterback and punter at Arizona State University where he was an All-American in 1973 He subsequently played in the World Football League before being signed by the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys. Through 1979 he appeared primarily as a punter and backup to star quarterback Roger Staubach, but after Staubach's retirement following the end of that season he became the starting quarterback himself and for a few years did double-duty as its punter until around 1984. One of those brought in to challenge White for the role of punter was Naas Botha, who at the time was unable to play international rugby.

White made the Pro Bowl in 1982, and led the Cowboys to three consecutive NFC championship games (1980-1982), but was criticized after the Cowboys lost each of the three despite having been favored in all three games. White also received criticism for publicly siding with the owners during the 1982 NFL Players Strike. Fans and teammates alike began to show support for White to be replaced as Dallas quarterback by Gary Hogeboom, who was coming off an impressive performance in the 1982 NFC title game. White's statistically career-best 1983 season wasn't even enough to quiet the critics. The Cowboys ended that season with consecutive blowout losses to the rival Washington Redskins (at home) and the San Francisco 49ers after a 12-2 start. To add insult to injury, the Cowboys lost the NFC Wildcard Playoff game to the Los Angeles Rams. That apparently was enough for White to lose his starting job to Hogeboom at the start of the 1984 season. Under Hogeboom, the Cowboys started 4-1 to begin the 1984 season, but then a loss to division rival St. Louis and ineffective play by Hogeboom convinced coach Tom Landry to reinstate White as his starter. The Cowboys finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs in 1984, but, with White as quarterback, made it back in 1985. They lost to the Los Angeles Rams again in the playoffs, however.

In 1986, the Cowboys started 6-2, had the #1 offense in the NFL, and were tied for the lead in the NFC Eastern Division with White as their quarterback. During an away game against Bill Parcells’s New York Giants, however, a vicious blindside sack by Giants linebacker Carl Banks broke White's throwing wrist, knocking him out of the game and ending his season. Dallas lost the game, 17-14, and without White, the team faded badly, finishing the year 7-9. It was the Cowboys' first losing season since 1965.

White returned as the starter at the beginning of 1987, but after inconsistent play, he was benched in favor of Steve Pelluer for 4 of the final 6 games. In 1988, Pelluer won the starting job in training camp, relegating White to a backup. White appeared (briefly) in only 2 games. In his second appearance he suffered a season-ending knee injury. An option on his contract was not picked up in April 1989 and he retired, paving the way for Troy Aikman to take the reins of the struggling franchise.

White had 1,761 completions on 2,950 attempts for 21,959 yards, 155 touchdowns, and 132 interceptions in his career. He also gained 482 yards and scored 8 touchdowns rushing. Unusually for a quarterback, he has two pass receptions for touchdowns, both from a halfback option pass. On special teams, he punted 610 times for 24,509 yards, an average of 40.4 yards per punt, with 144 punts in the 20 and 77 touchbacks. His record as the Cowboys' starting quarterback was 62-32 (.659 winning percentage) during the regular season, and 5-5 in the playoffs.

Coaching career

His career as a coach began shortly after his playing days ended. This is appropriate considering that, while an active player, he was widely regarded--like Staubach before him--as knowledgeable of the game and as something of a coach on the field.

"I don't think anybody could have followed Roger and done as well as Danny," Coach Tom Landry remarked. "Danny was a solid winner."

External links

• Danny White's Official Homepage