Hardy Otto Nickerson (born September 1, 1965 in Compton, California) is a former American football linebacker who played 16 seasons for four teams from 1987 to 2002 in the National Football League and is currently the head football coach at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, Calif. He attended Verbum Dei High School, a Catholic school located in Watts, California. He earned a BA degree in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1989. Nickerson spent the prime of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tony Dungy moved Nickerson to the middle in his 4-3 defensive alignment, sending Nickerson to five Pro Bowls [1] and joining the NFL's 1990s All-Decade Team.
In 2006 Nickerson became the color analyst for the Buccaneer Radio Network, teaming him with the long time veteran play-by-play man Gene Deckerhoff.
He is known by many people as Hardy "The Dragon" Nickerson. On February 23, 2007 he was named linebackers coach of the Chicago Bears, where he coached for his former position coach, Lovie Smith. On January 8, 2008 he resigned from the Bears due to health issues within his family.[2][3]
On April 15, 2010, Nickerson was hired as the head football coach at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, Calif., a traditional powerhouse that has produced many future NFL players (Tarik Glenn, Langston Walker, Kirk Morrison, Eric Bjornson) and won 209 games from 1985-2010 under former coach Paul Perenon. [4]
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Nickerson, Hardy |
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American football player |
| Date of birth |
September 1, 1965 |
| Place of birth |
Compton, California |
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