Dat Nguyen with wife Becky.
Dat Tan Nguyen (born on September 25, 1975 in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas) is the first Vietnamese American to play in the National Football League. He played for the Dallas Cowboys and was later hired as their assistant linebackers and defensive quality control coach.
Background
His family left South Vietnam during the fall of Saigon, which led to the end of the Vietnam War, and he was born in a refugee center. He lived most of his childhood in the Gulf Coast town of Rockport, Texas. He married his college sweetheart Becky, and they have two daughters.
Biography
Nguyen battled the perception that he was too small to play linebacker for as long as he was involved in the game, despite his muscular 5″11″, 238 pound frame. As a college freshman, he was known as a “Fat” Dat, but added muscle and became an NFL prospect. Proving critics wrong at an early stage, he proceeded to leave Texas A&M University as the Aggies’ career record holder with 51 consecutive starts, 517 career tackles and a 10.7 tackles-per-game average. His 517 career tackles is currently an Aggie record.
In 1998, he was named an All-American and won the Bednarik Award as well as the Lombardi Award.
Despite such an illustrious collegiate career, the “undersized” criticism was still heard from NFL personnel.
Dat Nguyen during his Texas A&M days.
The Cowboys went ahead and drafted the most productive linebacker in Texas A&M history in the third round (85th overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft. Nguyen made an impact with the Cowboys from the very beginning, leading the team in special-teams stops as a rookie and becoming Dallas’ starting middle linebacker in his second professional season. He would be a perfect fit for the Cowboys defensive scheme. Possessing great speed and range for a linebacker, he was a sideline to sideline defender able to transition seamlessly into Dallas’s version of 4-3 scheme defense. Slightly undersized by traditional standards for the Middle Linebacker position, he possessed tremendous form and excellent explosion at the point of attack. He was as adept at filling the gaps and stopping the run as he was in pass coverage.
In 2001, he completed his first full season as a starting NFL middle linebacker and silenced the critics by recording 112 tackles.
In 2003, with Nguyen leading the team in tackles, his Dallas Cowboys were the most effective defense in the NFL by a very wide margin; several interviews questioned his being left off the Pro Bowl roster. He was however selected 2nd team All-Pro by the Associate Press.
Dat Nguyen led the Dallas Cowboys in tackles during the 2003 season.
In May 2004, Nguyen was awarded a Golden Torch Award at the Vietnamese American National Gala in Washington, D.C.
He officially retired from the NFL on March 3, 2006, after a neck injury that hindered his 2005 performance failed to improve. Nguyen led the team in tackles three times, in 2001, 2003, and 2004, and amassed a stellar 516 tackles in seven seasons, despite missing half of two separate seasons to injury.
In February 2007, Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips announced the hiring of Nguyen as assistant linebackers coach / defensive quality control coach. Along with Phillips’ son Wes, Nguyen was the first assistant hired under Phillips.
Awards – High School and Collegiate
* All-State in high school as a punter
* All-American, consensus (1998)
* All Big-12 Conference Football – 1st team (1996-98)
* Big 12 Conference – 10th Anniversary Team (2005)
* Big 12 Conference – Defensive Player of the Year (1998)
* Chuck Bednarik Award – College Defensive Player of the Year (1998)
* Cotton Bowl – Defensive Player of the Game (1998)
* Dallas Morning News Big 12 Male Athlete of the Year (1998)
* Lombardi Award – Outstanding College Lineman (1998)
* Southwest Conference Defensive Newcomer of the Year (1995)
* Texas A&M Football Team MVP (1997)
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I watched Dat play for the first time in a bowl game versus UCLA years ago. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw this Vietnamese guy making tackles all over the field. He was definitely an inspiration.