Lionel Vital

Last updated
Lionel Vital
Houston Roughnecks
Position: General manager
Personal information
Born: (1963-07-15) July 15, 1963 (age 60)
Loreauville, Louisiana, U.S.
Height:5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight:195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school: Loreauville (LA)
College: Nicholls State
NFL Draft: 1985  / Round: 7 / Pick: 185
Career history
As a player:
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
As an executive:
As an administrator:
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played:3
Rushing yards:346
Touchdowns:2
Player stats at NFL.com  ·  PFR

Lionel Vital (born July 15, 1963) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions. He is currently the General Manager of the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League (UFL). He was a member of the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He also was a scout and director of personnel in the NFL. He played college football at Nicholls State University.

Contents

Early years

Vital attended Loreauville High School, where he practiced football and baseball. He accepted a football scholarship from NCAA Division I-AA Nicholls State University. As a freshman, he was used sparingly as a kickoff returner. As a sophomore, he was a backup at running back.

As a junior in 1983, starter Oscar Smith (second rusher in school history) missed the semester due to an academic suspension, putting Vital in a position to replace him as the starter and set a single-season record with 776 rushing yards. [1]

As a senior, Smith regained his starting position and Vital went back to a backup role. He finished his college career with 1,518 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns. [2]

In 2017, he was inducted into the Nicholls State Athletics Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Vital was selected by the Washington Redskins in the seventh round (185th overall) of the 1985 NFL Draft. [3] He was also selected by the Arizona Outlaws in the 13th round (187th overall) of the 1985 USFL Draft. He was placed on the injured reserve list with a hamstring tear before the start of the season. He was waived on August 19, 1986.

On August 21, 1986, he was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants. He was released when running back Joe Morris ended his contract holdout on August 26.

In September 1986, he was signed as a free agent by the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. On October 8, after bouncing between the practice and the active roster, he terminated his practice agreement to play outfield for the Chicago White Sox Instructional League squad. [4]

After the players went on a strike on the third week of the 1987 season, those contests were canceled (reducing the 16 game season to 15) and the NFL decided that the games would be played with replacement players. Vital was signed to be a part of the Redskins replacement team, which was given the mock name "Redscabs" by the media. [5] He was released after the NFL strike ended. He led the replacement games with 346 rushing yards. The rushing yards he registered in the three games, would be the NFL record for most rushing yards per game in a career (115.3) if he had played enough contests. After the strike was over, he was declared inactive from week 7 to week 9. He was cut on November 3.

On December 9, 1987, he was signed as a free agent by the Buffalo Bills. He was declared inactive for the last 3 games of the season. He was released off the injured reserve list on September 19, 1988. [6]

On November 4, 1988, he signed with the Detroit Lions after running back Carl Painter was placed on the injured reserve list. He was declared inactive in one game, before being released on November 10. [7]

In March 1989, he was signed as a free agent by the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. He was a backup running back, while contributing to the team winning the Grey Cup. He was released before the start of the season on July 13, 1990.

Personal life

In 1990, he was hired by the Saskatchewan Roughriders to be a college scout. In 1991, he was originally hired by Bill Belichick to be a college scout for the Cleveland Browns. In 1996, he moved along with the team to Baltimore, to be a scout during the Baltimore Ravens inaugural 1996 season. In 1998, he was hired by the New York Jets as the southeast region scout.

In 2000, he was hired by the New England Patriots as a national scout. [8] In 2001, he was promoted to assistant director of college scouting. In 2005, he was hired as a national scout by the Baltimore Ravens. In 2006, he received the Fritz Pollard Alliance Scouting Award, given to the top African-American scout in each conference. [9]

In 2007, he was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as the assistant director of player personnel, reuniting with general manager Thomas Dimitroff, who was also a part of the Browns and Ravens scouting staffs. In 2011, he was promoted to Associate director of player personnel. In 2013, he was promoted to Director of player personnel. [10] In 2016, he was hired by the Dallas Cowboys as the director of college scouting. [11] In February 2022, he retired from the NFL.

On August 15, 2023, Vital was hired by the Houston Roughnecks. [12]

In 2018, he received a Super Bowl ring from the Redskins for contributing to the team having a 3-0 record during the strike, winning the NFC East Division, reaching the playoffs and eventually winning Super Bowl XXII. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerry Joseph</span> American gridiron football player and coach (born 1973)

Kerry Tremaine Joseph is an American former gridiron football quarterback and current coach. He is the assistant quarterbacks coach for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was born in New Iberia, Louisiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charley Taylor</span> American football player and coach (1941–2022)

Charles Robert Taylor was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver for 13 seasons with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils, he was selected by Washington in the first round of the 1964 NFL Draft. With Taylor, the Redskins made the playoffs five times and reached the Super Bowl once (VII), after the 1972 season. A six-time All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowl selection, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Zorn</span> American football player and coach (born 1953)

James Arthur Zorn is an American former professional football player and coach. Zorn was a left-handed quarterback, and is best known as the starting quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks for their first eight seasons. He was the quarterback coach for the Seattle Seahawks from 2001 until the 2007 season. Before the 2008 season Zorn was originally hired by the Washington Redskins to serve as offensive coordinator. Two weeks after being hired, he was promoted as the team's head coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calvin Hill</span> American football player (born 1947)

Calvin G. Hill is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and Cleveland Browns. He also played a season with The Hawaiians of the World Football League (WFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Will Blackmon</span> American gridiron football player (born 1984)

William Edwards Blackmon is a former American football safety and return specialist. He played college football for the Boston College Eagles, and was drafted in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. He has also played for the New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Redskins, and briefly for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duane Thomas</span> American football player (born 1947)

Duane Julius Thomas is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins. He played college football for the West Texas A&M Buffaloes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Carpenter (gridiron football)</span> American gridiron football player (1926–2011)

Kenneth Leroy Carpenter was an American football halfback who played for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League (NFL) the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League (CFL), and the Denver Broncos in the American Football League (AFL) in the 1950s and 1960. Following his playing career, Carpenter coached during the 1960s in the CFL, NFL and a variety of smaller leagues in the United States.

Alonzo Walter Highsmith, Sr. is an American football executive, former fullback, and former boxer. He is a general manager for the University of Miami. He served as the vice president of player personnel for the Cleveland Browns from 2018 to 2019. Before that, Highsmith served as a senior personnel executive for the Green Bay Packers for six seasons from 2012 to 2017. He also played in the NFL for the Houston Oilers, Dallas Cowboys, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football at the University of Miami.

John B. Wooten is an American former professional football player who was a guard for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins. Wooten played college football for the Colorado Buffaloes and was selected in the fifth round of the 1959 NFL Draft.

DeShawn Wynn is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons. He played college football for the Florida Gators, and was a member of their 2006 National Championship team. He was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft, and also played for the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers of the NFL.

Eugene Edward Cronin is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins, and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of the Pacific.

Samuel Mayorga Garza Jr. is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the St. Louis Cardinals. He also was a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Ottawa Rough Riders in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at UTEP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macho Harris</span> American football player (born 1986)

Victor "Macho" Harris, Jr. is a former football defensive back. He recently played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Harris went on to play for the Washington Redskins and the Pittsburgh Steelers before signing with the Saskatchewan Roughriders on April 18, 2012.

The 1960 Dallas Cowboys season was the inaugural season for the franchise in the National Football League (NFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Morris (American football)</span> American football player (born 1988)

Alfred Bruce Morris is an American former professional football running back. He played college football at Florida Atlantic and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He has also played for the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, and New York Giants.

Kendial Lawrence is a former Canadian football running back who was last a member of the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He played college football at Missouri. Lawrence also played in the Italian Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Agnew III</span> American football player and executive (born 1991)

Ray Mitchell Agnew III is an American football executive and former fullback who is a pro scout for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL).

Mike Maccagnan is a former American football executive. He served as general manager for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL) from 2015 to 2019.

Shaun Wilson is an American football running back who is a free agent. He was most recently a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Duke and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2018. Wilson has also been a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins, and Tennessee Titans.

Dan Rambo is a Canadian and American football scout, and executive who served as general manager of the Ottawa Rough Riders.

References

  1. "Cowboys' Top Scout". The Daily Iberian. November 25, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  2. "Small-town product Vital owns ring for each finger". Daily Advertiser. July 5, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  3. "1985 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  4. "Lionel Vital has been cut by two NFL teams,..." UPI. October 12, 1987. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  5. "Lionel Vital has been cut by two NFL teams,..." UPI. October 12, 1987. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  6. "For The Record". The Washington Post. September 20, 1988. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  7. "Thursday's Sports Transactions College". UPI. November 10, 1988. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  8. "Patriots Hire Lionel Vital as National College Scout". New England Patriots. May 18, 2000. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  9. "Minority candidate Vital will get his shot". ESPN. January 21, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  10. "Falcons promote Lionel Vital". ESPN. January 11, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  11. "Cowboys Make Changes in Scouting Department; Add New College Director". Dallas Cowboys. June 15, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  12. @PFNewsRoom (August 15, 2023). "Exclusive: Houston Gamblers Hire New #USFL GM Lionel Vital, Remove Robert Morris" (Tweet). Retrieved January 5, 2024 via Twitter.
  13. "Washington Redskins scabs, including Tony Robinson, to receive 1987 Super Bowl rings". Knox News. March 6, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2019.