# Ed Marinaro

Ed Marinaro (born March 31, 1950) is an American actor and former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football for the Cornell Big Red, where he was a unanimous All-American and won the Maxwell Award in 1971.
From 2010 to 2011, Marinaro starred in the football comedy series Blue Mountain State. He is also known as a regular cast member of Hill Street Blues, playing Officer Joe Coffey for five seasons (1981–1986).

## Career
### Football

Marinaro played high school football in New Milford, New Jersey, for the New Milford High School Knights.
Marinaro played college football at Cornell University, where he was a three-time All-American, and set over 16 NCAA records. He was the first running back in NCAA history to run for 4,000 career rushing yards, and led the nation in rushing in 1971.
Marinaro was runner-up to Pat Sullivan for the Heisman Trophy in 1971, the highest finish for an Ivy League player since the league de-emphasized football in the mid-1950s. Princeton's Dick Kazmaier won the award in 1951 when the Ivy was still considered a major football conference. Marinaro won the 1971 Maxwell Award and the UPI College Football Player of the Year as the top player in college football. He holds four NCAA records: most rushes per game in a season (39.6 in 1971), career average carries per game (34.0, 1969–71), most rushing yards per game over an entire career (174.6, 1969–71), and earliest game reaching 1,000 rushing yards (5th, 1971).
While at Cornell, Marinaro was a member of Psi Upsilon and was selected for membership in the Sphinx Head Society. He went on to play professional football for six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets and Seattle Seahawks, appearing in Super Bowl VIII and Super Bowl IX with the Vikings. He scored 13 touchdowns over his career.

### Acting

After leaving football, Marinaro became an actor. He has been a cast member on a number of television series, including Laverne & Shirley and Sisters. He joined the regular cast of Hill Street Blues in 1981, playing officer Joe Coffey until 1986. Furthermore, he co-presented the Crystal Light USA National Aerobic Championship. He also appeared in the 2006 film Circus Island.
Marinaro played the head football coach for three seasons on Spike TV's comedy, Blue Mountain State.
In September 2019, Marinaro was a guest on Turner Classic Movies. With Ben Mankiewicz, he appeared in wraparounds and provided introductions for films in a college football-themed series.

## Personal life

Marinaro is married to fitness expert Tracy York and has one son.

## Honors

Marinaro was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1991.
In January 2020, Marinaro was named by ESPN as one of the "150 greatest players in college football's 150-year history", ranking at number 126. He was one of only three Ivy League players on the list. ESPN wrote of Marinaro, "It is up for debate as to whether Marinaro is the last great running back produced by the Ivy League. What is not up for debate are the numbers that illustrate his production."

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1978 | Fingers | Gino | |
| 1980 | The Gong Show Movie | Man In Locker Room | |
| 1983 | Imps* | Phil | |
| 1987 | Dead Aim | Malcolm "Mace" Douglas | |
| 1991 | Queens Logic | Jack | |
| 1998 | The Protector | Gabriel | |
| 2005 | Urban Legends: Bloody Mary | Bill Owens | Direct-to-video |
| 2006 | Circus Camp | Carlos Carrera | |
| 2006 | Fist of the Warrior | Raymond Miles | |
| 2016 | Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland | Coach Marty Daniels | |
| 2018 | An L.A. Minute | Jake | |
| 2019 | Love & Debt | Carl | |
| 2021 | The Many Saints of Newark | "Jilly" Ruffalo | Scenes deleted |
| 2021 | A Unicorn for Christmas | Horace | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1977 | The Edge of Night | Packey Dietrich | various episodes |
| 1978 | Flying High | Alex | Episode: "Swan Song for an Ugly Duckling" |
| 1980 | Eischied | Unknown | Episode: "Buddy System" |
| 1980–1981 | Laverne & Shirley | Sonny St. Jacques / Antonio DeFazio | 11 episodes |
| 1981–1986 | Hill Street Blues | Officer Joe Coffey | 104 episodes |
| 1982 | Born Beautiful | Doug Trainer | Television film |
| 1983 | Policewoman Centerfold | Nick Velano | Television film |
| 1987 | Tonight's the Night | Hayden Fox | Television film |
| 1987 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Mr. Powell | Episode: "What If I'm Gay?" |
| 1987 | Private Eyes | Nickey "The Rose" | Episode: "Nickey the Rose" |
| 1987–1988 | Falcon Crest | John Remick | 5 episodes |
| 1988 | Sharing Richard | Dr. Richard Bernowski | Television film |
| 1988 | Shades of Love: The Emerald Tear | Edward DeCoursey | Television film |
| 1988 | The Diamond Trap | Detective Brendan Thomas | Television film |
| 1988 | My Sister Sam | Billy Rossetti | Episode: "The Thrill of Agony, the Victory of Defeat" |
| 1989 | Dynasty | Creighton Boyd | 2 episodes |
| 1989 | The Twilight Zone | Darius Stephens | Episode: "Father & Son Game" |
| 1989 | Baby Boom | Eric | Episode: "X-y-l-o-p-h-o-n-e" |
| 1989 | Mick and Frankie | Mick Loomis | Television film |
| 1990 | Grand | Eddie Pasetti | 3 episodes |
| 1990 | Menu for Murder | Detective Joe Russo | Television film |
| 1991 | Midnight Caller | Joe Holloway | Episode: "Her Dirty Little Secret" |
| 1991 | Monsters | Matrin | Episode: "Talk Nice to Me" |
| 1991–1994 | Sisters | Mitch Margolis | 75 episodes |
| 1992 | Amy Fisher: My Story | Joey Buttafuoco | Television film |
| 1993 | Passport to Murder | Hank McKay | Television film |
| 1994 | Dancing with Danger | Derek Lidor | Television film |
| 1994 | Dream On | Policeman | Episode: "The Taking of Pablum 1-2-3: Part I" |
| 1994 | Touched by an Angel | Jack | Episode: "An Unexpected Snow" |
| 1995 | Favorite Deadly Sins | Actor Playing Frank Musso | Television film |
| 1996 | Deadly Web | Jones | Television film |
| 1996 | Panic in the Skies! | Brett Young | Television film |
| 1996 | Champs | Vince Mazzilli | 11 episodes |
| 1997 | Doomsday Rock | FBI Agent Paul | Television film |
| 1998 | Grace Under Fire | Dan Gabriel | Episode: "Fire in the Hole" |
| 1998 | Catch Me If You Can | Captain Morris Bernasky | Television film |
| 1999 | A Gift of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story | Coach Jack Farkas | Television film |
| 1999 | Odd Man Out | Bill | Episode: "Punch Line" |
| 1999 | Oh, Grow Up | Sal | Episode: "Goodwill Hunter" |
| 2000 | Twice in a Lifetime | Mr. Bogart | Episode: "Curveball" |
| 2001 | Avalanche Alley | Rick | Television film |
| 2002 | Third Watch | Tommy | Episode: "Two Hundred and Thirty-Three Days" |
| 2003 | 8 Simple Rules | Byron | Episode: "Good Moms Gone Wild" |
| 2003 | Monk | Stewart Babcock | Episode: "Mr. Monk and the 12th Man" |
| 2005 | Jane Doe: Til Death Do Us Part | Vincent Colabella | Television film |
| 2008 | Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon | Coach Gorfida | Television film |
| 2010–2011 | Blue Mountain State | Coach Marty Daniels | 39 episodes |
| 2011 | Days of Our Lives | Leo | 3 episodes |
| 2013 | Drop Dead Diva | Peter Bronson | Episode: "Missed Congeniality" |
| 2019 | SnowComing | Coach Kerrigan | Television film |