John Terrence Lynch #47

Player Spotlight....

Strong Safety

Born.... September 25, 1971 in Hinsdale, Illinois, U.S.

Brief.... Height 6'2" Weight 220lbs

College..... Stanford

NFL Draft..... 1993 / Round: 2 | Pick: 82

Buccaneers Career..... 1993 - 2003 | Acquired by draft

Ended Career By..... 2003 Season due to salary cap reasons

Lynch is a former American football strong safety who played fifteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and is a current color commentator for the Fox network's coverage of the NFL. He played college football at Stanford University, and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of the 1993 NFL Draft.

A nine-time Pro Bowl selection, Lynch earned a Super Bowl ring with the Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII. He also spent time with the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots before retiring as a free agent during the 2008 season. He was ranked No. 10 as the most feared tackler in NFL history, on the NFL Films production "Top 10 Most Feared Tacklers", for the NFL Network, a list shared with the likes of Dick Butkus, Lawrence Taylor, Jack Tatum, Ronnie Lott, and Jack Lambert.

Early Years

Lynch was born in Hinsdale, Illinois. He attended Torrey Pines High School in the Carmel Valley/Del Mar area of San Diego, California, where he also played baseball and basketball.

College Career

Lynch starred in baseball and football at Stanford University. While there he was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity.

Personal Life

Alstott is married to Nicole Alstott. They have three children; daughters Hannah and Lexie and son Griffin. Their family currently resides in St. Petersburg, Florida. Along with his wife Nicole they formed the Mike Alstott Family Foundation. Alstott also owns Island Way Grill, a restaurant in Clearwater, Florida along with former teammate tight end Dave Moore. Alstott also hosts an annual football camp. He was given the key to St. Petersburg on February 13, 2003. He makes an annual visit to St. Petersburg All Children's Hospital. Alstott also coaches youth football for the Seminole Chiefs and is head coach for the Northside Christian Mustangs in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Baseball Career

Lynch was drafted as a right handed pitcher by the Florida Marlins the second round (66th overall) of the 1992 amateur draft. He threw the first pitch in the organization's history as a member of the Erie Sailors, which was a 95 mph ball. His jersey is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He played two seasons in the minor leagues with the Sailors and Kane County Cougars, starting nine games and going 1–3 with a 2.36 earned run average.

He roomed with Edgar Renteria, according to his comments during the October 31 broadcast of the Oakland Raiders vs. Seattle Seahawks NFL game, for which Lynch acts as a broadcaster.

Football Career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Lynch was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round (82nd pick overall) of the 1993 NFL Draft. Lynch played his first 11 seasons in the league with the Buccaneers. When he arrived, the Buccaneers were among the worst teams in the league; his first three years were the last of a record stretch of 10-loss seasons. However, he was a key player on the aggressive Tampa 2 defenses of the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 2002, Lynch collected a Super Bowl ring in Super Bowl XXXVII with the Bucs.

Lynch was released by the Buccaneers following the 2003 season for salary cap reasons.

Denver Broncos

Lynch signed a free agent contract with the Denver Broncos prior to the 2004 season, despite being courted by the New England Patriots.

In the 2005 season, Lynch nearly made his second Super Bowl, but the Broncos lost to the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game.

He served as the Broncos defensive captain in 2006 and 2007. On July 31, 2008, Lynch was granted his release by the Broncos. Lynch said in a news conference that his lack of playing time heading into this season was a reason for his departure.

Lynch was officially inducted into the Broncos Ring of Fame on Oct. 23, 2016 in a ceremony at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, joining kicker Jason Elam and linebacker Simon Fletcher in the class of 2016.

Lynch was officially inducted into the Buccaneers Ring of Honor on Nov. 3, 2016 in a ceremony at Raymond James Stadium. Lynch joins Lee Roy Selmon, John McKay, Jimmie Giles, Paul Gruber, Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, Mike Alstott and Doug Williams in the Ring of Honor.

Make NO Mistake: John Lynch Is A Buccaneer

Writer Spotlight: In the words of - Martin Fennelly, Times Sports Columnist

TAMPA — John Lynch, one of the nicest men and ferocious competitors in NFL history, is about to set a North American speed record for shortest time between Ring of Honor inductions. Lynch will be added to the Bucs' Ring of Honor during Thursday night's game against Atlanta just 10 days after joining the Denver Broncos' Ring of Fame on Oct. 24.

"A quick turnaround," Lynch said with a laugh in a phone conversation. "And in between, I did a game in London for Fox. What a great ride."

Let's slow down Thursday to remember John Terrence Lynch, 45, super safety, one of the greatest Bucs. He hasn't made it to Canton, into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He belongs there. No matter. No. 47 belongs wherever and whenever people talk about Bucs history.

"He's a Buc," Bucs Hall of Famer Warren Sapp said. "You go ask him what he is. And if he says he's anything else, I'll kill him. He's a Buc."

"My personality is you're all in wherever you're at," Lynch said. "But Tampa was where I was raised in football. It's where I cut my teeth, going from a borderline special teams player to a guy who's in a Ring of Honor. I had 11 years there, won a championship there, and some of my greatest friends are on that Ring of Honor with me."

People think of Lynch whenever they think of that Super Bowl night, the Bucs winning it all in Lynch's hometown of San Diego. People think of Lynch whenever a football player hits another player and window panes rattle and fillings loosen. Football and passion. That was Lynch, 15 NFL seasons, nine Pro Bowls, forever a treasure, on and off the field, for Bucs fans.

Lynch is now a football analyst for Fox. But he's a Buc when you come down to it, even after the team unceremoniously dumped him after the 2003 season.

"In retrospect, time heals all wounds," Lynch said. "I kind of understand what they were thinking. Fortunately, there were teams willing to give me a new chance."

Did we mention he made the Pro Bowl his final four seasons after he left Tampa Bay?

He gave the Bucs everything he had. He has a 4-inch surgical scar on the back to prove it. I once wrote that Lynch was two men. There was the soft-spoken voice you heard during the week, the good guy, the softie who fought back tears whenever he heard God Bless America. Then came Sundays. Softie disappeared. John Lynch was there to take you down. He rang bells.

"But I never met a player who thought I was a cheap player, a cheap-shot artist," Lynch said.

Sometimes you wonder about the toll all those hits took, or eventually will take.

"My head was always good," Lynch said. "For a guy who played 15 years, I'd put myself up against anyone in terms of fewest concussions. I'm very healthy today. I still run. My head feels great."

Lynch lives in San Diego with his wife, Linda, and their four children. This just in: They're beautiful.

Jake, 17 plays baseball and football. Lindsay, 15, plays a mean tennis game. Lilly, 15, plays super tennis and soccer. Leah, 9, does soccer and tennis, too, when not lighting up everyone's day.

I never get tired of one Lynch story. Lynch retired from football at One Buc Place in 2008, altogether fitting — he's a Buc. But he did so only after one final fling, playing a couple of weeks for New England and Bill Belichick in the 2008 preseason.

"People ask me the most fun I ever had playing football and I always surprise them," Lynch said. "It's a game no one ever saw, because it was the fourth preseason game and Bill and I had come to an agreement that I was likely done."

Lynch asked Belichick for a favor: Let me play the entire preseason game against the Giants. There was Lynch, out there with free agents, rookies and no-names, running wild one last time on an NFL field.

"If you look at the stat sheet, I had like 14 tackles," Lynch said. "I was like Junior Seau. They'd tell me it was zone coverage — and I would blitz. Belichick was screaming, 'What the hell are you doing?' I came off one time and I gave him a hug. He finally just cracked a huge smile. I was out there just balling. I got a guy good, too. Rodney Harrison said it was one of his favorite hits. A guy caught like a little boot across the middle and I hit him and the guy went into our bench. I got some licks in."

John Terrence Lynch. And how.

Retirement

On November 17, 2008, while in Tampa, Lynch officially announced his retirement from football. Six days later, he joined NFL on Fox in the broadcasting booth as a color commentator, and was paired with Chris Rose. His first game covered was the Week 12, November 23, 2008 match-up of the Minnesota Vikings at the Jacksonville Jaguars. He now does commentary alongside Kevin Burkhardt.

Personal

Lynch is married to Linda, older sister of his close friend and former NFL tight end John Allred. He and Allred had a run-in during a 1997 NFL game that resulted in Allred almost getting knocked out from a hit.

Career Highlights & Awards

.... 9× Pro Bowl (1997, 1999–2002, 2004–2007)
.... 3× First-team All-Pro (1999–2001)
.... Second-team All-Pro (2002)
.... Super Bowl champion (XXXVII)
.... NFL Alumni Defensive Back of the Year (2000)
.... Bart Starr Man of the Year Award (2006)
.... "Whizzer" White NFL Man of the Year (2006)
.... Junior Seau Foundation Legend of the Year Award (2010)
.... Tampa Bay Buccaneers Ring of Honor
.... Denver Broncos Ring of Honor

John Terrence Lynch #47 Buccaneers statistics

1993		1994		1995		1996		1997		1998		1999
Games	Starts	Games	Starts	Games	Starts	Games	Starts	Games	Starts	Games	Starts	Games	Starts
15	4	16	0	9	6	16	14	16	16	15	15	16	16
2000		2001		2002		2003
Games	Starts	Games	Starts	Games	Starts	Games	Starts
16	16	16	16	15	15	14	14

Interceptions
Season	No.	Yards	Avg	LG	TD
1995	3	3	1.0	3	0
1996	3	26	8.7	25	0
1997	2	28	14.0	28	0
1998	2	29	14.5	29	0
1999	2	32	16.0	28	0
2000	3	43	14.3	36	0
2001	3	21	7.0	15	0
2002	3	0	0.0	0	0
2003	2	18	9.0	18	0
Total	23	200	8.7	36	0
Sacks			Passes Defensed
Season	No.		Season	No.
1993			1993	2
1995			1995	5
1996	1.0		1996	9
1997			1997	4
1998	2.0		1998	7
1999	0.5		1999	14
2000	1.0		2000	7
2001	1.0		2001	8
2002			2002	12
2003	0.5		2003	7
Total	6.0		Total	75
Tackles
Season	Solo	Asst	Total
1993	8	5	13
1994	11	4	15
1995	37	10	47
1996	74	29	103
1997	75	79	154
1998	55	52	107
1999	68	60	128
2000	66	44	110
2001	70	35	105
2002	50	46	96
2003	60	35	95
Total	574	399	973
Special Teams Tackles
Season	Solo	Asst	Total
1993	5	1	6
1994	7	1	8
1995	1	1	2
1996	0	1	3
1997	1	2	3
2001	1	0	1
Total	18	5	23
Rushing
Season	No.	Yards	Avg	LG	TD
1996	1	40	40.0	40	0
Total	1	40	40.0	40	0

John Terrence Lynch #47 Career Highlights

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