Hardy Otto Nickerson is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 linebacker

Linebacker

A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

 who played 16 seasons for four teams from 1987

1987 NFL season

The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players...

 to 2002

2002 NFL season

The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League.The league went back to an even number of teams, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each...

 in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 and is currently the head football coach at Bishop O'Dowd High School

Bishop O'Dowd High School

Bishop O'Dowd High School is a Catholic, co-educational, college preparatory school in Oakland, California, administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland and named for the late auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, James T. O'Dowd . About 44% of students are non-Catholic...

 in Oakland, Calif. He attended Verbum Dei High School

Verbum Dei High School

Verbum Dei High School, colloquially referred to as "the Verb", is an all-male Catholic high school combining college-preparatory academic courses and immersion in corporate work environments. It is operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles with the sponsorship of the of the...

, a Catholic school

Catholic school

Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...

 located in Watts, California. He earned a BA

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in Sociology

Sociology

Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

 from the University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

 in 1989. Nickerson spent the prime of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...

. Tony Dungy

Tony Dungy

Anthony Kevin "Tony" Dungy [DUN-jee] is a former professional American football player and coach in the National Football League. Dungy was head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996 to 2001, and head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2002 to 2008...

 moved Nickerson to the middle in his 4-3 defensive alignment, sending Nickerson to five Pro Bowls http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/N/NickHa00.htm and joining the NFL's 1990s All-Decade Team

NFL 1990s All-Decade Team

The NFL 1990s All-Decade Team was chosen by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The team was composed of outstanding performers in the National Football League in the 1990s....

.

In 2006 Nickerson became the color analyst for the Buccaneer Radio Network, teaming him with the long time veteran play-by-play man Gene Deckerhoff

Gene Deckerhoff

Emerson Eugene "Gene" Deckerhoff, Jr. is the radio play-by-play announcer of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a post he has held since 1989...

.

He is known by many people as Hardy "The Dragon" Nickerson. On February 23, 2007 he was named linebackers coach of the Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

, where he coached for his former position coach, Lovie Smith

Lovie Smith

Lovie Lee Smith is the head coach of the Chicago Bears professional football team of the NFL. Smith has been to the Super Bowl twice, as the defensive coordinator for the 2001 Saint Louis Rams and as the head coach for the Chicago Bears in 2006....

. On January 8, 2008 he resigned from the Bears due to health issues within his family.http://www.chicagobears.com/news/ChalkTalkStory.asp?story_id=4268http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=4265

On April 15, 2010, Nickerson was hired as the head football coach at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, Calif., a traditional powerhouse that has produced many future NFL players (Tarik Glenn

Tarik Glenn

Tarik Glenn is a former American football offensive tackle who played for the Indianapolis Colts. Glenn performed as two-way lineman at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California....

, Langston Walker

Langston Walker

Langston Branden Walker is an American football offensive tackle for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Raiders in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at California...

, Kirk Morrison

Kirk Morrison

Kirk David Morrison is an American football linebacker for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft...

, Eric Bjornson

Eric Bjornson

Eric Thomas Bjornson is a former professional American football tight end in the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 1995 NFL Draft...

) and won 209 games from 1985-2010 under former coach Paul Perenon.
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