Complete list of Aztecs in the Super Bowl
Jan. 22, 2004
Super Bowl XXXVIII continues a long line of San Diego State Aztecs in the NFL's biggest game. This season's NFC representative, the Carolina Panthers, is coached by former Aztec John Fox.
Fox earned two letters playing in the defensive backfield on Montezuma Mesa in 1975-76. Fox joins three other Super Bowl coaches and 21 players from San Diego State that have participated in the festivities of the largest spectacle in sports. Overall, an Aztec has been involved in over half of the 38 Super Bowls to date, beginning with legendary Don Horn in Green Bay's victory in Super Bowl II. Joe Gibbs, who played with SDSU from 1961-63 and then coached on The Mesa three more sea-sons, has been the Aztec with the greatest influence on the Super Bowl. Gibbs won three of the four games he participated in with the Redskins, beginning with a 27-17 triumph over Miami in 1983, and finishing with a 37-24 victory over Buffalo in 1992.
Gibbs wasn't the first former Aztec to lead his team to victory. Oakland Raider head coach John Madden won Super Bowl XI over Minnesota in 1977, only 11 years after leaving the staff of SDSU. Bill Billick is the latest head coach to use San Diego State as a stepping stone to Super Bowl histo-ry, leading Baltimore to a 34-7 victory over the Giants in 2001.
One of Fox's ex-teammates and current companion in the NFL coaching ranks has Super Bowl experience as a player. Current New York Jets head coach Herman Edwards played in the same defensive backfield as Fox for SDSU in 1976. Edwards then went on to start in the Philadelphia Eagles only Super Bowl, when they were defeated by Oakland 27-10 in 1981.
Of course the most famous Aztec in recent years, Marshall Faulk, has made an impact in the big game, teaming with former SDSU wide receiver Az-zahir Hakim in two Super Bowls. Faulk totaled 117 yards to lead the St. Louis Rams to a 23-16 victory over Tennessee in 2000. The two Aztecs combined for 225 yards as the leading rusher and receiver in the Rams, 20-17, defeat at the hands of the New England Patriots in 2002.
Several Aztecs have been a key to multiple Super Bowl appearances. Tight end Don Warren was a starter for four games, teaming with Joe Gibbs in each of the Redskins' Super Bowls, while Nate Wright started in three for Minnesota from 1974-77, but was never able to hoist the trophy.
Of all the Aztec greats to ever strap it up for the Super Bowl, only one has ever been able to reach the end zone. Ronnie Smith, SDSU's leading receiver in 1976, hauled in a 24-yard touchdown strike to give the L.A. Rams a 19-13 third-quarter lead over Pittsburgh in 1980. However, former SDSU defensive end Fred Dryer and the Ram defense could not stop the Steelers from scoring two unanswered scores as they earned a 31-19 victory.
There is a host of others from San Diego State to take the field for the NFL's ultimate goal, and John Fox will certainly not be the last in a long line of Aztecs to make an impact on the history of the Super Bowl.