If NFL teams could make a midgame call for a clutch catch, Ricky Proehl’s phone would be ringing off the hook. A third-round pick in the 1990 NFL draft, Proehl entered the league with his name littered in the Wake Forrest record book.
However, success in the NFL didn’t come easy for the pass catcher from the Bronx. Drafted by the Cardinals, Proehl put up solid numbers for the team. The Cardinals, however, were awful and during Proehl’s five years with the franchise, they never had a winning season. Proehl spent the next three seasons with the Seahawks and Bears, combining for only 17 starts during that time.
At the end of the 1997 season, Proehl had eight credited seasons. Considering the average career lasts around 3.5 years, Proehl had a good run, and perhaps his NFL journey was winding to an end.
That was until a call came through from the Rams and off to St. Louis he went. In 1999, Proehl’s career took a massive turn. The struggling Rams rehired former assistant Mike Martz to be their new offensive coordinator and The Greatest Show on Turf was born.
Proehl would have to wait his turn to shine. Considering there’s only one football and Marshall Faulk, Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, and Az-Zahir Hakim’s targets all taking priority over Proehl’s, he finished the 1999 season with 33 catches for 349 yards.
However, Proehl was a factor in the Rams’ Super Bowl XXXIV run. Despite his lack of stats in the regular season, Proehl proved that his production came in producing iconic moments. In the 1999 NFC championship game, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers marched up to St. Louis with a clear agenda: Defense, defense, defense.
Sporting their iconic Tampa 2 defense, head coach Tony Dungy and DC Monte Kiffin stifled the Rams’ explosive offensive attack. Future Hall of Famers Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Ronde Barber held Faulk to 17 carries for 44 yards. They also held Faulk, Holt, Bruce and Hakim to a combined 15 catches for 122 yards and no scores. Warner threw three picks on the day.
But as they say, it’s the unsung heroes that make the critical play and that’s what Ricky Proehl did. With the Bucs leading the Rams 6-5 with five minutes left in the game, Proehl made the defining play of the game. A 30-yard strike by Warner was hauled in by an even more impressive endzone catch by Proehl for the game-winning touchdown – Proehl’s only score of the season.
Proehl finished the game with six catches for 100 yards and the game’s lone touchdown. On a roster full of superstars, No. 87 shined bright. Proehl punched the Rams’ ticket to the Super Bowl. Seven days later, Proehl was a world champion.
Proehl’s iconic moments didn’t end there. In Super Bowl XXXVI, Proehl caught a game-tying touchdown with 1:30 remaining in the game. Unfortunately, that ended in a Rams defeat to the Patriots, 20-17. In Super Bowl XXXVIII as a member of the Carolina Panthers, Proehl caught a game-tying touchdown pass with 1:08 remaining. Again, Proehl would fall victim to the Patriots on another last-second field goal.
Proehl played 16 years in the league, five of which he spent with the Rams. An unselfish player, Proehl’s play directly resulted in a championship and an unprecedented era of success for the Rams. Without Proehl, there is no Greatest Show on Turf. Without Proehl, there is no title. Without Proehl, the narrative on those great Rams teams is completely different.
Proehl would play once again in the Super Bowl and would end his playing career as a champion. Despite being retired, he was called into service by the Indianapolis Colts in 2006. As a member of Colts, Proehl’s and Tony Dungy’s paths would cross once again. Now on the same side, they would win Super Bowl XLI together.
In retirement, Proehl got into coaching and player development. He spent six years with the Panthers as an offensive assistant and then as wide receivers coach. He helped the Panthers reach Super Bowl 50.
Proehl has since returned to St. Louis as the wide receivers coach for the XFL’s Battlehawks. His son Austin was a wide receiver on the team and both were in action when the Battlehawks broke the record for home attendance in a spring football game.
Proehl also owns his own sports performance center titled Proehlific Park.
He’s always been a man on a mission to make it happen. Whether he was operating as a teammate, coach, trainer or playmaker, football is in blood and it showed by what he did on the field.
