Don Doll

Who was Don Doll?

Donald LeRoy Doll, formerly Don Burnside, was an American football player and coach.

Doll played college football for the USC Trojans and professional football in the National Football League with the Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins and Los Angeles Rams. He was selected to play in each of the first four Pro Bowls and was named the Most Valuable Player in the 1952 season Pro Bowl. He played safety on the 1952 Detroit Lions team that won the NFL championship. He tied an NFL record in 1949 with four interceptions in a single game and is the only player in NFL history to have 10 or more interceptions in each of three different seasons. When he retired at the end of the 1954 season, he was the NFL's all-time leader with 41 interceptions.

After retiring as a player, Doll worked as a football coach for 34 years, serving as the head coach at West Contra Costa Junior College in 1956 and as an assistant coach with the University of Washington, USC, Notre Dame, Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins, Green Bay Packers, Baltimore Colts, Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions. During his NFL career, he was associated with the game's legendary coaches, as a player for Curly Lambeau and an assistant coach under Vince Lombardi and Don Shula.