James David Lofton (born July 5, 1956 at Fort Ord, Monterey County, California) is a former American football player and coach. He is a former American football coach for the San Diego Chargers but is best known for his years in the National Football League as a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers (1978–1986), Los Angeles Raiders (1987–1988), the Buffalo Bills (1989–1992), Los Angeles Rams (1993) and Philadelphia Eagles (1993). He was also the NCAA champion in the long jump in 1978 while attending Stanford University. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

High school career

Lofton prepped at George Washington High School in Los Angeles, California where he played quarterback and safety.

Track career

Lofton won the long jump at the 1978 NCAA Track and Field Championships with a wind-aided jump of 26 feet 11¾ inches. He won the long jump at the 1974 California State Track and Field Championships with a jump of 24 feet 3½ inches after placing sixth in this meet the year before. He was also a sprinter of note, with a best of 20.7 in the 200 meter dash. He has been an active participant in Masters track and field since 1997.

College career

Lofton graduated from Stanford University. As a senior in 1977, Lofton received 57 passes for 1,010 yards (17.72 yards per reception average) with 14 touchdowns, and was an AP & NEA Second Team All-American selection. He was a member of Theta Delta Chi Fraternity.

Professional career

Lofton was drafted in the first round (sixth overall) of the 1978 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. He was named to the NFL Pro Bowl eight times (seven with the Packers, one with the Bills). He was also named to four All-Pro teams. He also played in three Super Bowls during his career with the Bills. Lofton was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003.

In his 16 NFL seasons, Lofton caught 764 passes for 14,004 yards and 75 touchdowns. He averaged 20 yards per catch or more in five seasons, leading the league in 1983 and 1984 with an average of 22.4 and 22 yards respectively. He also rushed 32 times for 246 yards and one touchdown.

Lofton is the first NFL player to record 14,000 yards receiving and the first to score a touchdown in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. During his nine seasons in Green Bay, Lofton played in seven Pro Bowls and left as the team's all time leading receiver with 9,656 yards. In 1991, Lofton became the oldest player to record 1,000 receiving yards in a season (since broken by Jerry Rice).

Coaching career

Lofton became the wide receiver coach for the San Diego Chargers in 2002 and continued that role until he was fired on January 22, 2008. In 2006, Lofton was one of two finalists for the Stanford head coaching job. That job went to Jim Harbaugh. Lofton was later announced as a candidate to become head coach for Oakland Raiders in 2007 but the job would later go to Lane Kiffin. In 2008, the Raiders hired him as their wide receivers coach. On January 13, 2009, Lofton was let go by the Oakland Raiders and replaced by Sanjay Lal.

Broadcasting career

Lofton served as a color analyst and sideline reporter for NFL coverage on Westwood One radio from 1999-2001. In 2009 he re-joined the network to team with Dave Sims on Sunday Night Football broadcasts.

Personal

Lofton and his wife, Beverly, have three children: David, Daniel, and Rachel. David is a football player who most recently played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. Rachel's team took sixth place in the third season of television's Endurance Hawaii. Daniel is also a football player who received a scholarship to University of California, Berkeley but then transferred to the University of Hawaii after his freshman year. In 2009, Daniel transferred to Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, Texas where he will play football as a wide receiver and run track as a sprinter. Rachel will be attending UCLA in the Fall of 2009. Lofton is also the godfather of former college teammate and NFL player Gordon Banks' children. Lofton's cousin, Kevin Bass, was a Major League Baseball player.

External links

• Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
• Raiders Coaching Bio