John Randle

Minnesota Vikings

Randle went undrafted; he tried out for his brother's team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but at 6'1" and 244 pounds was thought to be too small, and was not signed to a contract. The Vikings picked up Randle after the draft on Head Scout Don Deisch's recommendation. They told Randle he would be picked up only if he came back with his weight over 250, so when he was weighed in he hid a chain under his sweats.^[6]

Randle played his first season in 1990. He went to his first Pro Bowl in 1993 after recording 11.5 sacks, and quickly became one of his era's dominant defensive tackles. Once Henry Thomas left the Vikings, Randle increased his training regimen. He recorded double-digit sacks during nine different seasons, including a career-high and league-leading 15.5 in 1997.^[7] In a 1999 game against the 49ers, he recorded his only career interception.

Like fellow Minnesota Viking Chris Hovan, Randle was known for eccentric face painting as well as trash-talking on the field, and disarming on-field heckling of opposing players.^[8] Among Randle's most famous on-field catchphrases was "Six footers for LIFE!", an allusion to scouting criticism of being undersized for his position.

Randle had an ongoing rivalry with Packers quarterback Brett Favre, whom he sacked more than any other quarterback; Favre said that Randle was the toughest defensive player he faced and that "on artificial turf he's unblockable".^[9] To play off the rivalry with Favre, Randle starred in a commercial featuring him sewing a miniature version of Favre's #4 jersey, which he put on a live chicken. The commercial then showed Randle chasing the chicken around what was supposed to be Randle's backyard and ended with him grilling chicken, leading to fierce protests by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.^[9]

Randle's pass-rushing techniques were motion-captured for 989 Sports's NFL Xtreme series. He was the cover athlete for the second game in the series.^[10]

Seattle Seahawks

At the end of the 2000 season,^[11] Randle signed with the Seattle Seahawks. In his first season with the Seahawks, he earned an invite to the Pro Bowl, the last of his career. Randle retired in 2004.^[12] He had planned to retire in 2003, but Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren convinced him to stay one more year. The Seahawks made the playoffs in 2003 while he was on the roster, but did not reach the Super Bowl, losing in the Wild Card Round to the Packers. Randle also acquired his final sack in 2003.

Randle left the NFL tied with Richard Dent for fifth in career sacks. His 137.5 sacks remain the second-highest total by a defensive tackle in NFL history, below fellow Vikings legend Alan Page, who had 148.5.^[13] Over his career, he was named to seven Pro Bowl squads. He was named All Tackle Machine of 1999 by Tackle: The Magazine.^{[citation needed]}

After retiring, Holmgren said of Randle, "He has more fun than any 10 players I've ever seen. There's the John Randle football player and there's the John Randle that might come up to my office and we'll talk about something. There really are two distinctly different guys, and sometimes in this business you get to see that. For a coach, he just makes things worth it."^[14]