Biography

John Mark Cotney (born June 26, 1952), is an American former professional football player who was a safety for 10 seasons with the Houston Oilersand Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1975 to 1984. He played college football for the Cameron Aggies. Selected by the Buccaneers in the 1976 NFL expansion draft, he was a member of the original winless 1976 team and the 1979 team that played in the 1979 NFC Championship game. He retired in 1986 on advice from his doctors, after suffering two cracked vertebrae in his neck while tackling Gerald Riggs in a 1985 preseason game. He continues to live in the Tampa area.