John Lorin Parrella (born November 22, 1969) is an American football coach and former defensive tackle who is currently the head coach at Lutheran West High School in Rocky River, Ohio. Parrella was the assistant defensive line coach for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) in 2019. He previously served as the former defensive line coach for the University of Nebraska. He played college football at Nebraska and was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 1993 NFL draft.

John Parrella
Lutheran West High School
Position:Head football coach
Personal information
Born: (1969-11-22) November 22, 1969 (age 54)
Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
Career information
High school:Grand Island (NE) Central Catholic
College:Nebraska
NFL draft:1993 / round: 2 / pick: 55
Career history
As a player:
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Tackles:405
Sacks:26.5
Interceptions:2
Stats at Pro Football Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Playing career

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Parrella was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 1993 NFL draft.[2] Parrella played most of his career with the San Diego Chargers from 1994 to 2001. He proved to be a reliable defender on the interior as a defensive tackle starting in 1996, routinely finishing with more than 30 tackles a year through 2002. His best seasons came in 1999 and 2000 when he recorded 5.5 and 7.0 Sacks along with 5 combined forced fumbles. He also played for the Oakland Raiders[3] from 2002 to 2004. He would record 1 Sack with 41 tackles in 2002.

Coaching career

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High School and College coaching

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From 2009 to 2012, Parrella served as the head coach at Valley Christian High School.

In 2013, Parrella was hired as an assistant coach at Chabot College.

Parrella then served as the defensive line coach at Northern Michigan University from 2014 to 2015.

On February 22, 2016, Parrella was hired on at Nebraska to be their defensive line coach.[4] Following the 2017 season, he was not retained when Scott Frost became Nebraska's head coach in December 2017.

Cleveland Browns

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On January 18, 2019, Parrella was hired by the Cleveland Browns as an assistant defensive line coach.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Transactions". NFL.com. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  2. ^ "1993 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  3. ^ "Las Vegas Raiders". Las Vegas Raiders. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  4. ^ "John Parrella - Assistant Coach - Football Coaches". University of Nebraska. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  5. ^ Staff reports (January 18, 2019). "Former Husker John Parrella joins Cleveland Browns coaching staff". Omaha.com. Retrieved June 8, 2020.