Adrian White (American football)


Adrian Darnell White is an American former college and professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League for seven seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. White played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the New York Giants, Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots of the NFL. He became an assistant coach after his playing career ended.

Early years

White was born in Orange Park, Florida in 1964. He attended Orange Park High School where he played high school football for the Orange Park Raiders.

College career

White began his college career at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, and he played football for the Southern Illinois Salukis for a single season in 1983. He transferred to the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida where he was a walk-on for coach Galen Hall's Florida Gators football team from 1984 to 1986. White was a three-year starter for the Gators, and a key member of the Gators' defense during the 1984 and 1985 seasons, when the Gators posted identical 9–1–1 overall win-loss records and led the Southeastern Conference with best-in-the-SEC records of 5–0–1 and 5–1. He was a first-team All-SEC selection and a second-team All-American as a senior in 1986. White was also a two-year Florida Gators track and field letterman as a sprinter and anchored the Gators' 4x100-meter relay team that included Olympian Dennis Mitchell.
White graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice in 1993, and later earned a master's degree in education from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Professional career

The New York Giants selected White in the second round in the 1987 NFL Draft, and he played for the Giants from to. White finished his NFL playing career with single-season stints with the Green Bay Packers and the New England Patriots. During his seven-season NFL career, White played in 70 regular season games, started five of them, and had four interceptions.

Coaching career

White was the assistant coach for defensive quality control for the Buffalo Bills, and his responsibilities included opposition scouting and self-scouting, as well as working with the Bills' linebacker corps. He was one of three assistants retained from the previous coaching staff by the Bills' new head coach, Chan Gailey, having previously been a Bills assistant for two years. He was with the Bills from 2008 to 2012, when he, along with the entire Bills coaching staff, was dismissed on December 31, 2012.