31 Jan 1993: Defensive lineman Leon Lett of the Dallas Cowboys runs with the ball after recovering a fumble during Super Bowl XXVII against the Buffalo Bills at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Lett is so much more than the two on-the-field gaffes he’s best remembered for. But during the lead-up to the 1991 draft, he was barely remembered at all.
A combination of poor grades and course-credit issues all resulted in Lett, an Alabama native, ending up at Emporia State University in Kansas. Then, battling a knee injury, he wasn’t invited to any senior all-star games or even the NFL scouting combine.
Even after being selected 173rd overall in 1991- the 14th of an incredible 18 draft picks amassed by Dallas that year- Lett didn’t make an impact until his second season with the Cowboys. He became one of the most feared defensive linemen in the game over ten years with the team, though, appearing on three Super Bowl-winning teams and earning two Pro Bowl nods.
But his outstanding playing career was always overshadowed by two infamous blunders. Before a worldwide audience in Super Bowl XXVII, he was just steps away from scoring with a 65-yard fumble return… before the ball was knocked out of his outstretched hand by Bills defender Don Beebe, who had chased him down from behind.
Then in 1993’s Thanksgiving Day game against Miami, in sloppy field conditions left behind by a freak November snowstorm, Lett booted a blocked field goal, turning what would have been a dead ball into a live one that the Dolphins recovered. They would re-attempt the kick and win the game.
After his playing days, Lett got into coaching and ended up back in Dallas. He was the team’s assistant defensive line coach from 2011 until this past offseason, when he was one of five Cowboys coaches let go in a massive turnover of the staff.
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