View source for Chip Cox

{{Short description|American gridiron football player (born 1983)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox CFL biography
| name = Chip Cox
| image = Chip Cox.jpg
| image_upright = 1.0
| alt = 
| caption = Cox with the Montreal Alouettes in 2007
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1983|6|24}}
| birth_place = [[Columbus, Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| team = 
| number = 11

| import = yes
| position1 = [[Linebacker]]
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 9
| weight_lb = 185
| college = [[Ohio University|Ohio]]
| high_school = [[Beechcroft High School|Beechcroft]]
| playing_years1 = {{NFL Year|2005}}
| playing_team1 = [[Detroit Lions]]*
| playing_years2 = {{CFL Year|2006}}
| playing_team2 = [[Montreal Alouettes]]
| playing_years3 = {{CFL Year|2007}}
| playing_team3 = [[Washington Redskins]]*
| playing_years4 = {{CFL Year|2007|2018}}
| playing_team4 = Montreal Alouettes
|career_footnotes=<nowiki/>*Offseason and/or practice squad member only
|career_highlights=
* 2× [[Grey Cup]] champion ([[97th Grey Cup|2009]], [[98th Grey Cup|2010]])
* [[CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award]] (2013)
* [[James P. McCaffrey Trophy]] (2013)
* CFL record for longest fumble return (108 yards) (2011)
* CFL record for most career fumble return yards (392)
* CFL record for most career fumble return touchdowns (6)
| CFLAllStar = {{CFL Year|2009}}, {{CFL Year|2011}}, {{CFL Year|2013}}
| CFLEastAllStar = {{CFL Year|2009}}, {{CFL Year|2010}}, {{CFL Year|2011}}, {{CFL Year|2012}}, {{CFL Year|2013}}, {{CFL Year|2014}}
| awards =
| CFL = chip-cox/121306/
| NFL = COX159194
| CFHOF = chip-cox/
| CFHOFYear = 2022
}}
'''Chip Cox''' (born June 24, 1983) is an American former professional [[Canadian football|football]] [[linebacker]] who played for the [[Montreal Alouettes]] of the [[Canadian Football League]] (CFL) for 13 seasons. He is a two-time [[Grey Cup]] champion, winning in [[97th Grey Cup|2009]] and [[98th Grey Cup|2010]], and winner of the [[CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award]] in [[2013 CFL season|2013]]. He is also a six-time CFL Divisional All-Star and three-time CFL All-Star. He holds three CFL records, including most career fumble return yards (392), most career fumble return touchdowns (6), and the record for longest fumble return (108 yards in 2011). Cox also holds several Alouettes records including most career tackles (979), most single season defensive tackles (115 in 2013), and most defensive tackles in a single game (13 against [[Calgary Stampeders|Calgary]] on July 1, 2012). He played [[college football]] for the [[Ohio Bobcats football|Ohio Bobcats]].

==Early life==
Cox [[Letterman (sports)|lettered]] three years in both track and [[College football|football]] at [[Beechcroft High School]] in Columbus, earning special mention all-state recognition in football his senior year. Cox became a second-degree [[Black belt (martial arts)|black belt]] in [[Tae Kwon Do]] in his Junior year.

==College career==
As a player for the [[Ohio Bobcats]], Cox recorded 240 career [[Tackle (football move)|tackles]] (176 solo), nine tackles for losses, five [[Quarterback sack|sacks]], four [[interceptions]], 29 [[Pass deflected|passes defended]], seven forced [[fumbles]], two fumble recoveries and three blocked [[Field goal (football)|field goal]]s. He holds the Ohio school record for the [[40-yard dash]] (4.37 seconds), and [[Starting lineup|started]] every game his sophomore and junior years, but battled injuries as a senior, only playing in nine games. He was also a member of the [[Ohio Bobcats]] [[track and field]] team, where he was a premiere [[Sprint (running)|sprinter]] and placed sixth in the [[100 meter]] dash at the 2004 [[Mid-American Conference]] championships.

==Professional career==
Cox was originally signed by the [[Detroit Lions]] as an [[undrafted]] [[rookie]] [[free agent]] on April 28, 2005, and he spent the 2005 [[National Football League Training Camp|training camp]] and preseason with the team. However, Cox was released on August 30, and he subsequently played in the CFL for the Montreal Alouettes. On January 9, 2007, he was signed by the [[Washington Redskins]] but was cut before training camp and returned to Montreal. After switching to the [[linebacker]] position for the [[2009 Montreal Alouettes season|2009 season]], Cox led the CFL in forced fumbles and capped off the year by winning the [[97th Grey Cup]] with the Alouettes. In [[2010 Montreal Alouettes season|2010]], the Alouettes repeated as champions and won the [[98th Grey Cup]].

On November 5, 2011 against the [[BC Lions]], Cox reached 400 career defensive tackles with the Alouettes, becoming the only player in club history to achieve this feat.

In [[2013 CFL season|2013]], Cox had a career high, and league leading, number of tackles with 115. He also had 12 sacks (career high) and four interceptions en route to winning the [[CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award]] and the [[James P. McCaffrey Trophy]]. With his 115 tackles that season, he broke the [[Montreal Alouettes]] single-season record of 110 set by [[Tracy Gravely]] in the [[1996 CFL season]].

On December 2, 2014, the Alouettes announced that they had resigned Cox to a three-year deal worth more than $200,000 annually, which general manager Jim Popp stated would make him the CFL's highest-paid defensive player.<ref name="Zurkowsky">{{cite news|url=https://montrealgazette.com/sports/football/cfl/montreal-alouettes/the-snap-cox-re-signs-with-als|title=The Snap: Cox re-signs with Als|last=Zurkowsky|first=Herb|work=Montreal Gazette|accessdate=2 December 2014}}</ref> He continued to have strong performances, registering at least 65 defensive tackles in each of the subsequent four seasons. He became a [[free agent]] on February 13, 2019.

Cox was announced as a member of the [[Canadian Football Hall of Fame]] 2022 class on June 21, 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cfl.ca/2022/06/21/canadian-football-hall-of-fame-welcomes-distinguished-class-of-2022/ |title=Canadian Football Hall of Fame welcomes distinguished class of 2022 |publisher=[[Canadian Football League]] |date=June 21, 2022}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20141125020337/http://en.montrealalouettes.com/roster/show/id/1567 Cox's Alouettes bio] 
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080402110902/http://sterlingsm.com/index.php?id=27 Cox's Sterling Sports Management page]

{{97th Grey Cup}}
{{98th Grey Cup}}
{{CFL MODPs}}
{{Canadian Football Hall of Fame members}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Chip}}
[[Category:1983 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American football defensive backs]]
[[Category:Canadian football defensive backs]]
[[Category:Montreal Alouettes players]]
[[Category:Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award winners]]
[[Category:Ohio Bobcats football players]]
[[Category:Players of Canadian football from Columbus, Ohio]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:Detroit Lions players]]
[[Category:Washington Redskins players]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Columbus, Ohio]]