The Rams on Tuesday officially announced the hiring of Chase Blackburn as their next special teams coordinator.
Here are five things you should know about him:
1) Heart of a (Super Bowl) champion
Blackburn played eight of his 10 NFL seasons with the Giants, winning two Super Bowls (XLII and XLVI) with them.
His leaping interception early in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLVI on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's deep pass intended for tight end Rob Gronkowski was one of the game's most memorable plays. Blackburn also helped the Giants end the Patriots' bid at a perfect 18-0 season with New York's victory over New England in Super Bowl XLII.
2) Special teams pride
Signed by the Giants as an undrafted free agent out of Akron in 2005, Blackburn led them in special teams tackles for six straight years beginning with his rookie season. He was also named a Pro Bowl alternate as a cover specialist in 2008.
3) A quarterback – for a short time
In an interview with Giants.com, Blackburn said he always played linebacker, but also had experiencing playing tailback through middle school and quarterback his freshman year of high school. Since he became one of the bigger players on the team, he eventually switched to offensive line, then tight end before playing both linebacker and tight end once he moved up to the varsity team.
4) Hooping it up
In that same story, Blackburn also said that basketball was his first love. He played varsity as a sophomore, but later switched to football once he got bigger. Blackburn still continued to play basketball through college, though, playing in pick-up games and on intramural teams.
5) Note-taker (and keeper)
According to a February 2018 article on Panthers.com, Blackburn was known for being a meticulous note-taker – also holding onto those stacks of notebooks.
"It drives my wife a little crazy with an office full of books and notebooks and game plans. But I knew what I wanted to do, so I kept them," Blackburn said. "All of them. Everything I've ever done.
"When we'd move, she would be like, 'Are you really going to keep 37 notebooks?' I told, 'Yeah, I'll use them.' Obviously the game keeps evolving and changing, and some of that stuff is irrelevant, but a lot of it still has great value."
