Pernell McPhee

Pernell McPhee

McPhee with the Baltimore Ravens in 2020
Michigan Wolverines
Position:	Assistant Coach
Personal information
Born:	(1988-12-17) December 17, 1988 (age 35) Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:	269 lb (122 kg)
Career information
High school:	Pahokee (Pahokee, Florida)
College:	Mississippi State
NFL draft:	2011  / round: 5 / pick: 165
Career history
As a player:
Baltimore Ravens (2011–2014) Chicago Bears (2015–2017) Washington Redskins (2018) Baltimore Ravens (2019–2021)
As a coach:
Michigan (2024–present) Assistant coach
Career highlights and awards
Super Bowl champion (XLVII) NJCAA All-American (2008) First-team All-SEC (2010) Second-team All-SEC (2009)
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles: 260 Sacks: 38.0 Forced fumbles: 6 Fumble recoveries: 2 Interceptions: 1 Pass deflections: 16 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Pernell McPhee (born December 17, 1988) is a former American football linebacker. He is currently an assistant coach at the University of Michigan. He was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL draft out of Mississippi State. He has also played for the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins.

Early life

Pernell attended Pahokee High School, where he was teammates with Dwight Bentley and Janoris Jenkins. McPhee only played one year of high school football and started on both sides of the ball, playing offensive tackle and defensive end. He registered 75 total tackles, including 35 tackles for loss and 19 quarterback sacks to go along with 12 forced fumbles as a senior. He helped lead Pahokee to a 14–0 record that included a 25–11 win over John Brantley's Ocala Trinity Catholic for the 2006 FHSAA Class 2B State Championship. ^[1] McPhee was named all-state following that season. In addition to his exploits on the football field, he was also a two-year starter in basketball. He originally signed with the University of Southern Mississippi out of high school before going the community college route. ^{[2] [3]}

College career

Itawamaba Community College

Spent the first two years of his college career at Itawamba Community College in Fulton, Mississippi where he was named an NJCAA All-American as a sophomore, a season in which he led the nation with 13.5 sacks. ^[4] During his career at ICC, he tallied 124 tackles (92 solo), 32.5 sacks, 73.5 TFL, 47 QB pressures, and 4 FFs in 18 games. ^[5] In 2019, McPhee was selected to the ICC Athletic Hall of Fame. ^[6]

Mississippi State University

After completing his two years at ICC he transferred to Mississippi State. He was named to the coaches All-SEC first-team as a senior in 2010 and was named first-team All-SEC as a junior in 2009. He served as a team captain in 2010. During his MSU career he started all 25 of the games in which he appeared and totaled 91 tackles (46 solo), 7 sacks, 22 TFL, 20 QB pressures, 2 FFs, and 4 pass breakups. ^[5] In 2009, he was twice named the SEC Defensive Lineman of the week. ^[7]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
6 ft 2+5⁄8 in (1.90 m)	278 lb (126 kg)	34+3⁄8 in (0.87 m)	9 in (0.23 m)	5.04 s	1.81 s	2.97 s	4.59 s	7.13 s	28.5 in (0.72 m)	8 ft 11 in (2.72 m)	20 reps
All values from NFL Combine [8] [9]

Baltimore Ravens (first stint)

McPhee was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round with the 165th overall pick of the 2011 NFL draft. ^[10] McPhee collected 6.0 sacks as a rookie for the Ravens in 2011, plus 23 tackles and a forced fumble while playing in all 16 regular season games. On January 12, 2013, in the AFC Divisional Playoff against the Denver Broncos, McPhee recorded a strip-sack on quarterback Peyton Manning. The Ravens would go on win that game 38–35 in double overtime. On January 20, 2013, in the AFC Championship against the New England Patriots, McPhee tipped a pass from quarterback Tom Brady that led to an interception by Dannell Ellerbe with 6:49 remaining in regulation. This led to the Ravens winning that game 28–13 and earning a trip to Super Bowl XLVII, where they would defeat the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 34–31. ^[11] McPhee switched from defensive end to outside linebacker for the 2013 season.

In the 2014 season, McPhee finished with a career high 7.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

Chicago Bears

On March 10, 2015, McPhee signed a five-year contract with the Chicago Bears. ^{[12] [13]} On September 27 on the road at CenturyLink Field, McPhee came up with two back to back sacks in a 0–26 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. ^[14] In the 2015 season, McPhee led the team with 18 quarterback hits. ^[15] McPhee started the 2016 season on the PUP list with a knee injury. He was activated to the active roster on October 20, 2016. ^[16] In 2017, McPhee played in 13 games with five starts before suffering a shoulder injury in Week 15. He was placed on injured reserve on December 20, 2017. ^[17] On February 26, 2018, McPhee was released. ^[18]

Washington Redskins

Doug Williams and McPhee during 2018 training camp

On March 26, 2018 McPhee signed a one-year, $1.8 million contract with the Washington Redskins. ^{[19] [20]}

Baltimore Ravens (second stint)

On May 17, 2019, McPhee signed with the Ravens. ^[21] He was placed on injured reserve on October 21, 2019, with a triceps injury.

On May 12, 2020, McPhee re-signed with the Ravens. ^[22] He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on November 24, 2020 ^[23] and activated on December 4, 2020. ^[24]

On March 16, 2021, McPhee signed a one-year contract extension with the Ravens. ^[25] On November 20, 2021, McPhee was placed on injured reserve with an knee injury. ^[26] He was activated on December 20, 2021. ^[27]

Coaching career

In March 2024, McPhee was hired by the University of Michigan as an assistant football coach, coaching under his former defensive coordinator while at the Baltimore Ravens, and current Michigan defensive coordinator, Don Martindale. ^[28]

NFL career statistics

Legend
Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	Games		Tackles					Interceptions					Fumbles
		GP	GS	Cmb	Solo	Ast	Sck	TFL	Int	Yds	TD	Lng	PD	FF	FR	Yds	TD
2011	BAL	16	0	23	16	7	6.0	4	0	0	0	0	2	1	1	0	0
2012	BAL	12	6	21	18	3	1.5	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2013	BAL	16	0	21	13	8	2.0	5	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0
2014	BAL	16	0	27	17	10	7.5	11	0	0	0	0	4	1	0	0	0
2015	CHI	14	12	53	42	11	6.0	9	1	13	0	13	3	1	0	0	0
2016	CHI	9	0	16	13	3	4.0	5	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
2017	CHI	13	5	21	20	1	4.0	5	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0
2018	WAS	13	0	11	8	3	0.0	3	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	24	0
2019	BAL	7	7	19	17	2	3.0	7	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
2020	BAL	15	13	34	26	8	3.0	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
2021	BAL	10	0	14	11	3	1.0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
		141	43	260	201	59	38.0	58	1	13	0	13	16	6	2	24	0

Playoffs

Year	Team	Games		Tackles					Interceptions					Fumbles
		GP	GS	Cmb	Solo	Ast	Sck	TFL	Int	Yds	TD	Lng	PD	FF	FR	Yds	TD
2011	BAL	2	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
2012	BAL	4	0	4	2	2	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	1	0	0
2014	BAL	2	0	4	0	4	0.5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2020	BAL	2	1	7	6	1	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
		10	1	15	8	7	2.5	1	0	0	0	0	3	1	1	0	0

References

1. "2006 FHSAA Class 2B Football Championship". FHSAA. Archived from the original on March 9, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
2. "2010 Football Roster: Pernell McPhee". Hailstate.com. Mississippi State Athletics. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
3. "Pernell McPhee, 2007 Defensive Tackle - Rivals.com". N.rivals.com. February 8, 2007. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
4. "Player Roster: Pernell McPhee". Baltimore Ravens. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
5. "Player Bio: Pernell McPhee". Chicago Bears. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
6. "Athletic Hall of Fame". Itawamba Community College Athletics. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
7. RYAN BROWN NAMED SEC DEFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE WEEK Archived March 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
8. "Pernell McPhee Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
9. "Pernell McPhee, Mississippi State, DE, 2011 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
10. "2011 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
11. "Super Bowl XLVII – San Francisco 49ers vs. Baltimore Ravens – February 3rd, 2013". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
12. Sessler, Marc. "Bears to sign Pernell McPhee to five-year deal". NFL.com. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
13. Mayer, Larry (March 11, 2015). "Bears agree to terms with McPhee". ChicagoBears.com. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
14. "Bears vs. Seahawks – Box Score – September 27, 2015 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
15. "By the Numbers: 2015". www.chicagobears.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
16. "Bears elevate McPhee to active roster". ChicagoBears.com. October 20, 2016.
17. Mayer, Larry (December 20, 2017). "Bears put McPhee on injured reserve". ChicagoBears.com.
18. Mayer, Larry (February 26, 2018). "Bears release veterans McPhee, Demps". ChicagoBears.com.
19. "Redskins sign LB Pernell McPhee". ESPN.com. March 26, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
20. "Pernell McPhee contract". Spotrac.com. March 26, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
21. Mink, Ryan (May 17, 2019). "Ravens Officially Bring Back Pass Rusher Pernell McPhee". BaltimoreRavens.com.
22. Mink, Ryan (May 12, 2020). "Ravens Officially Sign Pernell McPhee to Bolster Front Seven". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
23. Brown, Clifton (November 24, 2020). "Ravens Place Pernell McPhee on Reserve/COVID-19 List". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
24. Brown, Clifton (December 4, 2020). "Ravens Activate Four From Reserve/COVID-19 List". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
25. Mink, Ryan (March 16, 2021). "Ravens Officially Bring Back Linebacker Pernell McPhee". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
26. Brown, Clifton (November 20, 2021). "Ben Cleveland Activated to 53-Man Roster, Pernell McPhee to Injured Reserve". BaltimoreRavens.com.
27. Brown, Clifton (December 20, 2021). "Ravens Activate From Reserve/COVID-19 List". BaltimoreRavens.com. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
28. "BREAKING: Former Ravens Linebacker Pernell McPhee Joins Michigan Coaching Staff". March 19, 2024.

External links

• Mississippi State Bulldogs bio
• Media related to Pernell McPhee at Wikimedia Commons