Don Beebe
American football player and coach (born 1964)
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Donald Lee Beebe (born December 18, 1964) is an American football coach and former wide receiver who is the head football coach for the Aurora Spartans. He previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. In addition to his six seasons with the Bills, who selected him in the third round of the 1989 NFL draft, he was a member of the Carolina Panthers during their inaugural season and played for the Green Bay Packers in his last two seasons.
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Aurora, Illinois, U.S.
Beebe in 2015 | |||||||||
| Aurora Spartans | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Head coach | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | December 18, 1964 Aurora, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Kaneland (Maple Park, Illinois) | ||||||||
| College |
| ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1989: 3rd round, 82nd overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
Playing | |||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Head coaching record | |||||||||
| Regular season | 55–8 (.873) | ||||||||
| Postseason | 4–5 (.444) | ||||||||
| Career | 59–13 (.819) | ||||||||
A member of the Bills teams that lost four consecutive Super Bowls, Beebe achieved recognition for preventing an opposing touchdown by forcing a fumble in Super Bowl XXVII, despite the Bills facing an insurmountable deficit. He made two further Super Bowl appearances with the Packers and was part of the team winning Super Bowl XXXI. Beebe pursued a coaching career after retirement and was hired as Aurora's head football coach in 2019.
Early life
Beebe is one of five children of Don and Barb Beebe.[1] He attended Kaneland High School in Maple Park, Illinois where he lettered in basketball, track and football, graduating in 1983.[1] After attending Western Illinois University, he transferred to Chadron State College in Nebraska, where he set several school football records his senior year and ran a 6.3 60-yard dash on the indoor track team.[2]
In his sole season with Chadron State, Beebe caught 49 passes for 906 yards and rushed 10 times for 81. He became the first player in school history to score a touchdown in every game, while also setting single-season school records for most all-purpose yards (1,661), points scored (90), and touchdowns (15). In 2000, Beebe was inducted into Chadron State's athletic hall of fame.[3]
As of 2020, he still holds the following Chadron State football records:[4]
- Most touchdown receptions in a game: 4 vs. Black Hills State, 1988
- Most touchdowns scored: 5 vs. Black Hills State, 1988
- Kick Returns and Kick Return Yards in a season: 29 for 722 yards, 1988
NFL career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical jump | Broad jump | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 10+3⁄4 in (1.80 m) | 176 lb (80 kg) | 33+5⁄8 in (0.85 m) | 10 in (0.25 m) | 4.25 s | 1.53 s | 2.59 s | 4.08 s | 36.5 in (0.93 m) | 9 ft 7 in (2.92 m) | |||
| All values from NFL Combine[5][6] | ||||||||||||
Beebe was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the third round (82nd pick overall) of the 1989 NFL draft.[7][8] He posted impressive statistics in speed and agility drills at the 1989 pre-draft combine.[9]
In his nine NFL seasons, Beebe caught 219 passes for 3,416 yards, rushed for 28 yards, returned 81 kickoffs for 1,735 yards, and scored 25 touchdowns (23 receiving, one kickoff return, and one fumble recovery). He appeared in five Super Bowls as a player: XXVI, XXVII, and XXVIII with the Buffalo Bills (missing XXV due to injury) and XXXI and XXXII with Green Bay. While Buffalo lost its four consecutive title games, Beebe ultimately won a Super Bowl with the Packers in XXXI.[10]
Beebe is known for his play in Super Bowl XXVII against the Dallas Cowboys. In the game's fourth quarter, Cowboys defensive tackle Leon Lett recovered a Bills fumble and advanced the ball toward the end zone. Lett began to celebrate prematurely, however, by holding the ball out to his right side. Although the Bills were losing 52–17 at the time, Beebe streaked down the field and knocked the ball out of Lett's hands just before he crossed the goal line.[11] The loose ball went through the end zone and out of bounds for a touchback and prevented a Dallas touchdown, which would have given them a Super Bowl-record 58 points, plus an extra point kick. Beebe also caught two passes for 50 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown reception from Frank Reich earlier in the game.
Beebe played one season for the Carolina Panthers in 1995 before finishing his career with the Packers. In 1996, Beebe ended up being the Packers' second-leading receiver, with 39 receptions, 699 receiving yards, 4 touchdown receptions, as well as the only kickoff return touchdown of his career. In an overtime battle against the San Francisco 49ers, Beebe had 11 receptions for 220 yards and one touchdown in a 23–20 Packer victory. Beebe stumbled and fell after catching a pass from Favre. Beebe got up and ran the ball in for a 59-yard touchdown. Replays show that he was tagged by Marquez Pope and should have been ruled down, but referees missed the call and video review was not available that year.[12]
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won the Super Bowl | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Kick returns | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1989 | BUF | 14 | 0 | 17 | 317 | 18.6 | 63 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 16 | 353 | 22.1 | 85 | 0 |
| 1990 | BUF | 12 | 4 | 11 | 221 | 20.1 | 49 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 23.0 | 23 | 0 | 6 | 119 | 19.8 | 27 | 0 |
| 1991 | BUF | 11 | 7 | 32 | 414 | 12.9 | 34 | 6 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 7 | 121 | 17.3 | 24 | 0 |
| 1992 | BUF | 12 | 8 | 33 | 554 | 16.8 | 65 | 2 | 1 | -6 | -6.0 | -6 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 1993 | BUF | 14 | 14 | 31 | 504 | 16.3 | 65 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 10 | 160 | 16.0 | 22 | 0 |
| 1994 | BUF | 13 | 11 | 40 | 527 | 13.2 | 72 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 230 | 19.2 | 35 | 0 |
| 1995 | CAR | 14 | 1 | 14 | 152 | 10.9 | 24 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 9 | 215 | 23.9 | 38 | 0 |
| 1996 | GB | 16 | 6 | 39 | 699 | 17.9 | 80 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 15 | 403 | 26.9 | 90 | 1 |
| 1997 | GB | 10 | 0 | 2 | 28 | 14.0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 6 | 134 | 22.3 | 39 | 0 |
| Career | 116 | 51 | 219 | 3,416 | 15.6 | 80 | 23 | 4 | 28 | 7.0 | 23 | 0 | 81 | 1,735 | 21.4 | 90 | 1 | |
Postseason
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Kick returns | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1989 | BUF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 53 | 26.5 | 32 | 0 |
| 1990 | BUF | 0 | 0 | Did not play due to injury | |||||||||
| 1991 | BUF | 3 | 2 | 11 | 144 | 13.1 | 43 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | BUF | 4 | 3 | 12 | 186 | 15.5 | 40 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 1993 | BUF | 3 | 3 | 9 | 88 | 9.8 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 71 | 23.7 | 34 | 0 |
| 1996 | GB | 3 | 0 | 2 | 31 | 15.5 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 25.0 | 25 | 0 |
| 1997 | GB | 0 | 0 | DNP | |||||||||
| Career | 14 | 8 | 35 | 466 | 13.3 | 43 | 3 | 7 | 149 | 21.3 | 34 | 0 | |
Coaching career
In 1998, Beebe founded House of Speed, LLC,[13] a company that specializes in training athletes in the essentials of top performance, speed and character. House of Speed began franchise operations in 2006 and has locations in eleven states. Beebe also works with several professional, collegiate and amateur sports organizations in the area of speed, including the Chicago Bears, the Los Angeles Rams, the University of Illinois Fighting Illini and Club Fusion Volleyball.
In 2004, Beebe began coaching football for Aurora Christian Schools in Aurora, Illinois.[14] He—along with his brother, defensive coordinator David Beebe, and brother Dan, the school's athletic director—led the Eagles to the school's first state championship appearance in 2008, where the team finished as 4A state runner-up after losing to Bloomington Central Catholic 37–28.[15] Three years later Beebe and the Eagles returned to the finals, this time winning the 2011 IHSA Class 3A State Championship with a 34–7 win over Mt. Carmel. In 2012, Beebe led the Eagles to a second straight IHSA Class 3A State Championship by defeating Tolono-Unity 42–12 before stepping down as coach after the 2013 season and an overall 97–26 record. His brother succeeded him as head coach.[16]
In November 2018, Beebe was named the head coach at Aurora University, replacing Rick Ponx, who was fired just the day before.[17][18]
Personal life
In 2000, Chadron State renamed its renovated football stadium after Beebe, calling it Elliott Field at Don Beebe Stadium.[19] Beebe wrote a book with Denise Crosby titled Six Rings from Nowhere.[20] As of 2014, a deal was in the works to develop the book into a feature film about Beebe's life and Christian faith.[16][21] Beebe's son, Chad, was a wide receiver for Northern Illinois University,[16] a wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings NFL team from 2018 to 2022, and was a wide receiver for the Houston Texans in 2022.[22]
Head coaching record
College
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | D3# | AFCA° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora Spartans (Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference) (2019–present) | |||||||||
| 2019 | Aurora | 9–2 | 7–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division III First Round | 24 | |||
| 2020–21 | Aurora | 3–0 | 3–0 | T–1st | |||||
| 2021 | Aurora | 8–3 | 8–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division III First Round | ||||
| 2022 | Aurora | 11–2 | 8–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division III Quarterfinal | 13 | |||
| 2023 | Aurora | 11–1 | 8–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division III Second Round | 13 | 12 | ||
| 2024 | Aurora | 9–2 | 8–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division III Second Round | 14 | 14 | ||
| 2025 | Aurora | 8–3 | 6–2 | 2nd | W Lakefront | ||||
| Aurora: | 59–13 | 48–2 | |||||||
| Total: | 59–13 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||