Lemar Parrish Lemar R . Parrish ( born December 13 , 1947 ) is a former professional American football player who played defensive back in the National Football League for the Cincinnati Bengals ( 1970 – 1977 ) , Washington Redskins ( 1978 – 1982 ) , and the Buffalo Bills ( 1982 ) . Before his NFL career , Parrish played for Lincoln University of Missouri , located in Jefferson City , Missouri . After graduating college , he was selected by the Bengals in the seventh round of the 1970 NFL Draft . Parrish immediately made an impact for the Bengals , not just as a defensive back , but also as a kick returner on special teams . In his 1970 rookie season , Parrish recorded five interceptions , one fumble recovery , 194 yards returning punts , 482 yards returning kickoffs , and scored two touchdowns ( one punt return and one kickoff return ) . His 482 kickoff return yards came off just 16 returns , a whopping 30 . 1 yards per return average . In 1974 , Parrish set a franchise record with an NFL leading 18 . 8 yards per punt return average ( 18 returns for 338 yards ) . In his eight seasons with the Bengals , Parrish was selected to the Pro Bowl six times ( 1970 , 1971 , 1974 – 1977 ) . After the 1977 season , Parrish got into a contract dispute with his team , and ended up being traded to the Redskins . Parrish left the Bengals as the team ' s all time leader in touchdowns scored by " return or recovery " with 13 ( four on punt returns , four on interception returns , three on fumble returns , one on a kickoff return , and one on a blocked field goal return ) . He was also the only player in franchise history ever to score two " return or recovery " touchdowns in a single game , a feat he accomplished three times . In a 1970 game against the Bills , he scored touchdowns on a 95 yard kickoff return and an 83 yard blocked field goal return . In a 1972 game against the Houston Oilers , he scored touchdowns on interception returns of 25 and 33 yards . In a 1974 game against Washington , he scored touchdowns on a 93 yard punt return and 47 yard fumble return . Parrish also left the team as their all time leader in punt return yards with 1 , 201 , and held the franchise record for punt return yards in a season with 338 in 1974 . With the Redskins , Parrish was no longer used as a kick returner , but he still made a big impact , recording nine interceptions in his first year with them , and seven in the year after that . He made the Pro Bowl two more times with Washington , in 1979 and 1980 . Parrish played with Redskins until 1981 , and then spent his final season with Bills before retiring in 1982 . In his 13 NFL seasons , Parrish recorded 47 interceptions for 462 yards , 13 fumble recoveries for 65 return yards , 131 punt returns for 1 , 205 yards , 61 kickoffs for 1 , 504 yards , and 13 touchdowns . After retiring in 1982 , Parrish struggled with a drug addiction , but checked into a Tennessee rehab clinic in 1986 and managed to overcome it and turn his life around . He later returned to his alma mater , Lincoln University of Missouri and earned a bachelor ' s degree in physical education with a minor in psychology . Parrish eventually served as Head Coach of the Blue Tigers Football Team from 2004 to 2009 .