Brandon Noble

Brandon Patrick Noble (born April 10, 1974) is a football coach and former National Football League player for the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins. He is considered one of NFL Europe's great success stories.

Noble was named the Class AAA State Player of the Year as a senior at First Colonial High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He played as an offensive and defensive lineman.

Noble had to endure adversity to become a two-year starter at defensive tackle for Penn State University. He broke his leg and missed the 1993 season and in the spring of 1994, lost 40 pounds because of a bout with mononucleosis.

As a sophomore, he totaled 22 tackles and two sacks during Penn State's undefeated 1994 season, and subsequent Rose Bowl victory over Oregon. In his first full season as a starter during his junior campaign, he registered 53 tackles and four sacks.

As a senior in 1996, Noble posted a team-high eight sacks and a career-high 72 tackles. He was named second-team All-Big Ten, and was awarded the Hall Foundation Athletic Award, given to the team's most outstanding senior player. He was also named the Nittany Lions' most outstanding senior player and the defensive Most Valuable Player of the Fiesta Bowl.

He earned a degree in Criminal Justice in 1998.

San Francisco 49ers

Noble signed with the San Francisco 49ers in 1997 as an undrafted free agent and was waived during training camp. The 49ers signed him to the practice squad for a week in November 1997 and then cut him again.

By January 1998, he was back with the 49ers, who then allocated him to the Barcelona Dragons of NFL Europe. Noble returned to training camp with the 49ers and was released at the end of camp. He returned to the 49ers practice squad, this time for the final four weeks of the 1998 season before being waived.

Dallas Cowboys

In 1999, Noble signed as a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys, and was again assigned to the Barcelona Dragons of NFL Europe. He had a strong showing there, including All-NFL Europe honors and helping lead Barcelona to victory in World Bowl V. The experience and the salary cap problems the team was having during that period of time, helped him make the team as backup defensive tackle, where he was second on the squad in tackles by non-starters and fourth on the team with 3 sacks.

In 2000 Noble took over the starting role at left defensive tackle during the middle of the season, after injuries forced Chad Hennings to miss the rest of the games and eventually retire.

By 2001 through hard work he had turned himself into a very good player. He had his best season after starting all 16 games and playing a key role in the Cowboy's significant improvement on defense, helping a mostly blue-collar cast finish fourth overall by allowing only 287.4 yards per game. Noble contributed with 56 tackles, six quarterback pressures, 3.5 sacks and two passes defensed.

In 2002 playing next to Laroi Glover, he delivered another solid season, finishing his Cowboy career with 32 consecutive starts.

Washington Redskins

Noble signed with the Washington Redskins as a free agent on March 1, 2003. He suffered a season-ending left knee injury in the preseason and spent the year on injured reserve. In 2004, he returned from his injury to play in all 16 games, starting seven. He recorded 38 tackles (19 solo) with one sack. He was awarded the team's Ed Block Courage Award, given to the player who best persevered through injury. However, Noble injured his right knee in the 2005 preseason and was again placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.

During his rehabilitation, Noble developed a serious type of staph infection, MRSA, which nearly required amputation of his leg. After a long series of setbacks to his recovery, he was released by the Redskins on March 10, 2006 on a salary cap saving move and retired prior to the 2006 season.

Noble was hired as the linebackers coach at West Chester University in 2006.[1] After a one-year hiatus from coaching, he returned as the Golden Rams' defensive line coach in 2010.

On February 17, 2011, Noble was introduced as the defensive line coach for the UFL's Omaha Nighthawks. On January 5, 2012, Noble was brought in as an assistant coach for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers when the Nighthawks' head coach Joe Moglia took the head coaching position at CCU.

Noble joined fellow Penn Stater, Matt Rhule's staff at Temple as an assistant coach in December 2012.

Temple Head Coach Matt Rhule announced on December 2, 2013 that Noble is leaving the Owl's coaching staff due to personal reasons.

Noble is a regular guest on the ESPN Radio show All Night with Jason Smith during the NFL season in which Smith would dial up Noble's phone number only to get the "caller ID" message and that Smith would get through by identifying himself as an NFL player or coach making news that week. Noble appears via the OnStar hotline when either Amy Lawrence or Bob Valvano is filling in for Smith on AllNight.

He is also a frequent guest on DC101's "Elliot in the Morning" in Washington, D.C., providing NFL news and analysis.

Noble and his wife Mary Kate were married Thanksgiving weekend during the 2000 season. They have three children: Conner, Grace, and Jackson.