No. 4, 3, 18, 1, 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position: | Kicker | ||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
Born: | Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. | April 20, 1964||||||||||||||||||
Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||||||||
Weight: | 185 lb (84 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||||||
High school: | Cardinal Newman (West Palm Beach, Florida) | ||||||||||||||||||
College: | Notre Dame (1984–1986) | ||||||||||||||||||
Undrafted: | 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
|
John Michael Carney (born April 20, 1964) is an American former professional football player who was a kicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 1987.
Carney was also a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Diego Chargers, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, and New York Giants. He was a Pro Bowl selection with the Chargers in 1994 and with the Giants in 2008. When he was released from the Saints' active roster in December 2009, Carney was third on the NFL career scoring list with a career total of 2,044 points. [2] [3] He was the last remaining player from the 1980s still active in professional football. He has also worked as a kicking consultant for the Saints.
Carney attended Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, Florida, and lettered in football. In football, he won All-State honors as a punter.
Carney attended the University of Notre Dame and played football for the Fighting Irish from 1984 to 1986. He was named to Notre Dame's all-time team by Sports Illustrated .[ citation needed ]
After going undrafted in the 1987 NFL draft, Carney was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent. He was released prior to the regular season and spent the year out of football.
Carney played five games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers between 1988 and 1989. He converted two of five field goal attempts and all six extra point attempts. At the time of his retirement, he was the last active player to wear the Buccaneers orange uniform scheme.
Carney attended training camp with the San Diego Chargers in 1990, but did not make the final roster.
Carney played one game for the Los Angeles Rams in 1990, but did not attempt a field goal or extra point. He was the last remaining active Los Angeles Ram, until the team moved back to Los Angeles from St. Louis in 2016.
Carney was re-signed by the Chargers during the 1990 season, appearing in 12 games for the team and converting 19 of 21 field goal attempts. He played 11 seasons with the Chargers through the 2000 season, earning his first Pro Bowl selection in 1994 after going 34-for-38 (89.5 percent) on field goal attempts as the Chargers made it to the Super Bowl. To this day, he remains the Chargers' all-time leading scorer.
Carney signed with the New Orleans Saints as a free agent prior to the 2001 season.
On December 21, 2003, the Saints were trailing the Jaguars 20–13 with 7 seconds left in regulation. Quarterback Aaron Brooks threw the ball in a hurry to Donte Stallworth. As time expired, the Saints continued to lateral the ball around until wide receiver Jerome Pathon eventually scored a touchdown in what became known as the River City Relay. Carney was sent out to kick the extra point to tie the game up and force overtime. Instead, Carney pushed the ball wide right and the Saints lost 19–20. The loss would eliminate the Saints from playoff contention.
Carney kicked a game-winning field goal against the Carolina Panthers following Hurricane Katrina. He then appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with quarterback Aaron Brooks on September 19, 2005, as the city celebrated this victory.
On April 5, 2007, Carney asked and was given permission to leave the Saints after their acquisition of kicker Olindo Mare.
Following Week 1 of the 2007 NFL season, Carney signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars replacing injured placekicker Josh Scobee. Carney appeared in eight games for the Jaguars in Scobee's absence, converting nine of 11 field goal attempts and 20 of 21 extra point attempts. He was released on November 19 upon Scobee's return.
On November 26, 2007, the Kansas City Star reported that the Kansas City Chiefs would sign Carney after holding tryouts to replace Dave Rayner – making Carney the fourth placekicker to play for the Chiefs within a one-year period, following Lawrence Tynes, Justin Medlock and Rayner. Carney appeared in five games for the Chiefs, going 3-for-3 on field goal attempts and 7-for-7 on extra point attempts.
On August 30, 2008, Carney signed with the New York Giants to fill in while Tynes recovered from a knee injury sustained in training camp. Although Tynes would eventually recover from his injury Carney continued to hold on to the starting position and Tynes was relegated to kickoff duties. At age 44, Carney was the oldest active NFL player during the 2008 season. [4]
After a near perfect season (35-for-38 on field goal attempts with two blocked), [5] Carney was chosen as the starting kicker for the NFC for the 2009 Pro Bowl. Carney was not re-signed after his contract expired, leaving him a free agent entering the 2009 season.
Following the announcement that New Orleans Saints placekicker Garrett Hartley would be suspended for the first four games of the 2009 season, Carney returned to New Orleans on August 15 on a one-year contract. [6] With his start on November 30, he became the sixth player in NFL history to reach 300 career games. Carney was waived on December 22, two weeks after Hartley regained the starting job. [2]
On December 24, 2009, the Saints announced that Carney had been hired as a "kicking consultant", with responsibility for the snap and hold as well as working on kicking with his successor, Hartley. The appointment meant that Carney was ineligible to kick for any team for the rest of the 2009 season. [7] Carney remained with the Saints in this capacity through the playoffs, and received credit for his role in preparing the comparatively inexperienced Hartley to make a number of critical kicks that helped the Saints win their first Super Bowl. [8] [9]
Carney started the 2010 season without a team. However, after Hartley missed 3 out of 7 field goal attempts during the Saints' first 3 games, including a short kick in overtime that would have won a game against the Atlanta Falcons, the Saints re-signed Carney (while also retaining Hartley) on September 28, 2010. [10] The signing made him the oldest active player in the NFL at the age of 46. On October 3, 2010, he kicked three field goals in a Saints win against the Carolina Panthers, and became the third oldest player to play in an NFL game (behind only George Blanda and Morten Andersen). [11] On October 12, the Saints released Carney for the third time. Carney would not sign with another NFL team. He became the third NFL player after George Blanda and Jeff Feagles to play across four different decades.
Legend | |
---|---|
Won the Super Bowl | |
Led the league | |
Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | GP | Field goals | PATs | Pts | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FGM | FGA | FG% | <20 | 20−29 | 30−39 | 40−49 | 50+ | LNG | BLK | XPM | XPA | XP% | ||||
1988 | TB | 4 | 2 | 5 | 40.0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 29 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 100.0 | 12 |
1989 | TB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
1990 | LAR | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
SD | 12 | 19 | 21 | 90.5 | 2–2 | 8–8 | 6–7 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 43 | 0 | 27 | 28 | 96.4 | 84 | |
1991 | SD | 16 | 19 | 29 | 65.5 | 1–1 | 6–6 | 6–8 | 4–10 | 2–4 | 54 | 1 | 31 | 31 | 100.0 | 88 |
1992 | SD | 16 | 26 | 32 | 81.3 | 0–0 | 13–14 | 5–7 | 7–8 | 1–3 | 50 | 2 | 35 | 35 | 100.0 | 113 |
1993 | SD | 16 | 31 | 40 | 77.5 | 1–1 | 7–7 | 14–17 | 7–12 | 2–3 | 51 | 3 | 31 | 33 | 93.9 | 124 |
1994 | SD | 16 | 34 | 38 | 89.5 | 0–0 | 12–12 | 15–15 | 5–9 | 2–2 | 50 | 0 | 33 | 33 | 100.0 | 135 |
1995 | SD | 16 | 21 | 26 | 80.8 | 0–0 | 8–8 | 10–11 | 3–5 | 0–2 | 45 | 1 | 32 | 33 | 97.0 | 95 |
1996 | SD | 16 | 29 | 36 | 80.6 | 0–0 | 11–13 | 8–8 | 7–12 | 3–3 | 53 | 1 | 31 | 31 | 100.0 | 118 |
1997 | SD | 4 | 7 | 7 | 100.0 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 41 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 100.0 | 26 |
1998 | SD | 16 | 26 | 30 | 86.7 | 0–0 | 11–12 | 5–5 | 8–10 | 2–3 | 54 | 0 | 19 | 19 | 100.0 | 97 |
1999 | SD | 16 | 31 | 36 | 86.1 | 2–2 | 13–13 | 6–8 | 9–12 | 1–1 | 50 | 2 | 22 | 23 | 95.7 | 115 |
2000 | SD | 16 | 18 | 25 | 72.0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 5–7 | 7–10 | 2–4 | 54 | 2 | 27 | 27 | 100.0 | 81 |
2001 | NO | 15 | 27 | 31 | 87.1 | 0–0 | 7–7 | 11–11 | 8–12 | 1–1 | 50 | 2 | 32 | 32 | 100.0 | 113 |
2002 | NO | 16 | 31 | 35 | 88.6 | 0–0 | 9–9 | 11–13 | 11–12 | 0–1 | 48 | 0 | 37 | 37 | 100.0 | 130 |
2003 | NO | 16 | 22 | 30 | 73.3 | 0–0 | 6–6 | 10–12 | 5–9 | 1–3 | 50 | 1 | 36 | 37 | 97.3 | 102 |
2004 | NO | 16 | 22 | 27 | 81.5 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 12–15 | 5–6 | 2–3 | 53 | 1 | 38 | 38 | 100.0 | 104 |
2005 | NO | 16 | 25 | 32 | 78.1 | 1–1 | 12–13 | 4–6 | 8–12 | 0–0 | 49 | 2 | 22 | 22 | 100.0 | 97 |
2006 | NO | 16 | 23 | 25 | 92.0 | 1–1 | 9–9 | 7–8 | 5–6 | 1–1 | 51 | 1 | 46 | 47 | 97.9 | 115 |
2007 | JAX | 8 | 9 | 11 | 81.8 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 41 | 1 | 20 | 21 | 95.2 | 47 |
KC | 5 | 3 | 3 | 100.0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 40 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 100.0 | 16 | |
2008 | NYG | 15 | 35 | 38 | 92.1 | 0–0 | 15–15 | 14–15 | 5–7 | 1–1 | 51 | 2 | 38 | 38 | 100.0 | 143 |
2009 | NO | 11 | 13 | 17 | 76.5 | 0–0 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 46 | 2 | 50 | 52 | 96.2 | 89 |
2010 | NO | 2 | 5 | 6 | 83.3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 4–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 32 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 100.0 | 18 |
Career | 302 | 478 | 580 | 82.4 | 11–11 | 168–175 | 165–193 | 113–165 | 21–36 | 54 | 24 | 628 | 638 | 98.4 | 2,062 |
John has been married to Producer Holly Carney for 28 years. They share 3 children, Luke Carney, JD Carney and Keely Carney. Both JD and Keely attended John's alma mater The University of Notre Dame. John runs a pre-season kicking training camp in San Diego for professional kickers called "The Launching Pad". [12]
The Carney family are devout Catholics. [13]
George Frederick Blanda was an American professional football quarterback and placekicker who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Blanda played 26 seasons of professional football, the most in the sport's history, and had scored more points than anyone in history at the time of his retirement.
Adam Matthew Vinatieri is an American former professional football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 24 seasons with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Vinatieri is the NFL's all-time leading scorer at 2,673 points, in addition to holding the NFL records for field goals made (599), postseason points (238), and overtime field goals made (12). He is considered one of the greatest placekickers of all time.
Morten Andersen, nicknamed "the Great Dane", is a Danish-American former professional football kicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 25 seasons, most notably with the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons. Following a career from 1982 to 2007, Andersen holds the NFL record for regular season games played at 382. He also ranks second in field goals (565) and points scored (2,544). In addition to his league accomplishments, he is the Saints all-time leading scorer at 1,318 points. Andersen was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017. Along with Jan Stenerud, he is one of only two exclusive kickers to receive the honor.
In American football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist and occasionally in youth football, also acts as the punter.
Michael Shayne Graham is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies. He made his professional debut in May 2000 with the Richmond Speed of the Arena Football League's now-defunct developmental league, AF2.
Lawrence James Henry Tynes is a former professional football placekicker. After he played soccer for Milton High School, a coach suggested he try out for the football team as a kicker. He played college football at Troy and was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2001. He spent two seasons on the practice squad in Kansas City, then played in NFL Europe and in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He came back to Kansas City and played for the Chiefs for three seasons, and was then traded to the Giants in 2007. In his first season with the Giants, he kicked the game-winning field goal in overtime against the Green Bay Packers in the 2007–08 NFC Championship Game, which qualified the Giants for Super Bowl XLII. Four years later, he kicked another overtime field goal against the San Francisco 49ers in the 2011–12 NFC Championship Game, which qualified the Giants for Super Bowl XLVI. He experienced his best success with the Giants, winning Super Bowl championships in 2007 and 2011, defeating the New England Patriots in both games.
Douglas Robert Zachariah Brien is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 1994 NFL draft. Brien played in the NFL for seven teams: San Francisco, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Tampa Bay, Minnesota, New York Jets, and Chicago. After retiring from the NFL, Brien co-founded the real estate investment firms Waypoint Homes and Mynd.
John David Kasay is an American former professional football player who was a kicker for 21 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs and was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the 1991 NFL draft. Kasay left the Seahawks in 1995 to sign with the expansion Panthers, whom he was a member of for 16 seasons. He became the Panthers' all-time leading scorer, while also earning Pro Bowl honors during the 1996 season and making a Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl XXXVIII. Retiring after one season with the New Orleans Saints, Kasay was one of the last remaining active members of the inaugural Panthers team.
Olindo Franco Mareoh-LIN-doh MAR-ay; is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He was originally signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 1996. He played college football at MacMurray College and Syracuse. Mare, who was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1999, has also played for the Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears.
Joshua Taylor Scobee is an American former professional football placekicker. He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round of the 2004 NFL draft. He also played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football at Louisiana Tech, setting several school records.
Nicholas Ryan Novak is an American former professional football placekicker. He played college football at Maryland and was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2005.
The River City Relay was a play in a National Football League (NFL) game involving the New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars that took place on December 21, 2003, at Alltel Stadium, now known as EverBank Stadium, in Jacksonville, Florida. With the Jaguars leading 20–13, the Saints used three laterals to score a touchdown as time expired in regulation. However, New Orleans kicker John Carney missed the ensuing extra point that would have sent the game into overtime, and instead gave Jacksonville the 20–19 victory.
Garrett Hartley is a former American football placekicker. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2008. Later that year he became the placekicker for the New Orleans Saints, for whom he set an NFL record for most consecutive successful field goals to start a career, and then became the first kicker in NFL history to convert three field goals of more than 40 yards in the Super Bowl. The Saints won Super Bowl XLIV, beating the Indianapolis Colts. He played college football at Oklahoma.
Stephen Theodore Hauschka is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Middlebury College and North Carolina State.
The 2009 season was the New Orleans Saints' 43rd in the National Football League (NFL), and as of the 2023 season's conclusion, the most successful in franchise history. The Saints recorded a franchise record 13 regular season victories an improvement on their 8–8 record and fourth-place finish in the NFC South from 2008, and advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2006 en route to victory in Super Bowl XLIV.
Dustin Hopkins is an American professional football placekicker for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 2013.
Joshua Gregory Lambo is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is currently 8th all-time in field goal percentage, having made 87.07% of his field goals in his time in the NFL.
Caleb James Sturgis is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators, setting team records for field goals completed in a season and a career, and was recognized as a first-team All-American. He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL draft.
Jason Myers is an American professional football placekicker for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Marist Red Foxes.
Aldrick Rosasal-DREEK row-SOS; is an American former professional football placekicker. He was selected to the Pro Bowl for the 2018 season as a member of the New York Giants.