Derek Stingley Derek Stingley ( born April 9 , 1971 in Chicago , Illinois ) is a former arena football Head Coach for the New Orleans Voodoo of AFL . He also had an eight year career as a defensive specialist for the Albany Firebirds . He played college baseball at Triton College . He was selected in the 1993 Major League Baseball Draft as a center fielder by the Philadelphia Phillies , where he spent three seasons ( 1993 – 1995 ) . Early life . Stingley was just seven years old when his father , New England Patriots wide receiver Darryl Stingley , was paralyzed , in a preseason game , after being hit by Oakland Raiders safety Jack Tatum on August 20 , 1978 . College career . Stingley enrolled at Purdue University in 1989 , where he intended to play both football and baseball . However he soon decided that he was too small , at just 5 ' 10 " tall and 150 pounds , to play Big Ten football . So he decided to leave Purdue and attended two smaller , junior colleges in Indiana . Finally graduating from Triton College . Professional playing career . Stingley was selected in the 1993 Major League Baseball Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies . He played in the Phillies organization for three seasons before deciding to attempt to play professional football . He began his professional football career playing for the Louisiana Bayou Thunder , a semi - pro football team . He was then signed to an Arena Football League contract by then - head coach of the Albany Firebirds Mike Hohensee . On June 14 , 1998 , Stingley was on the receiving end of a hard hit by Thomas Orr of the New York CityHawks that left him unconscious for 10 minutes , many believing that Stingley , like his father , had been paralyzed by the hit . However , he wasn ' t paralyzed from the hit . Coincidentally , his father was in attendance at that game . As a result he did miss one game , suffering a concussion from the hit . In 1999 , Stingley was signed to the New York Jets ' practice squad . However , he was released by the team after just three practices . On January 15 , 2002 , Stingley was waived by the Chicago Rush . In February 2003 , Stingley signed with the Carolina Cobras . Professional coaching career . af2 ( 2005 - present ) . Stingley began his coaching career with the Macon Knights of the af2 , the Arena Football League ' s minor league , in 2005 as Defensive Coordinator , but was promoted to Head Coach mid - way through the season . He coached the Knights for two seasons . He was able to turn around a losing 2 - 4 record , finishing the 2005 season at 8 - 8 and making the playoffs . In the 2006 season , the team again finished 8 - 8 , just missing the playoffs by one game . After spending two seasons with the Knights , he was hired as the head coach of the South Georgia Wildcats , after Donnie Davis was fired after a 3 - 13 season . In 2007 , his first season in Georgia , Stingley recorded a 10 - 6 record and advanced to the second round of the playoffs . In his second and final season with the Wildcats , he was named the 2008 Coach of the Year after the Wildcats finished with a 12 - 4 record , winning their final seven games to close out the regular season and captured first place in the league ' s South Division . The team also finished in the top ten in several statistical categories , including scoring defense , rushing defense and interceptions . While a head coach in af2 , his overall record was 37 wins and 25 losses , a winning percentage of . 597 , including three postseason appearances . On November 17 , it was announced that Stingley had signed with the Bossier - Shreveport Battle Wings to become the teams Defensive Coordinator . Arena Football League ( 2009 ) . On September 16 , 2008 , he was hired by the New Orleans VooDoo as their new defensive coordinator . On October 15 , 2008 the Voodoo announced that the team was ceasing operations resulting in Stingley ' s contract being nullified . On September 16 , 2010 , he was hired by the New Orleans VooDoo as their new Head Coach . On June 26 , 2011 Derek Stingley was released by the New Orleans Voodoo as the head coach . Personal . Stingley is the youngest child of former New England Patriots wide receiver Darryl and Tina Stingley . He currently resides in Baton Rouge , Louisiana along with his wife Natasha and their four children Isis , Nahjha , Derek Jr . , and Sanaa . Derek is the youngest of three sons , his siblings , Darryl Stingley Jr and John Shawn Smith .