Age: 24
2nd
season in pro football, 1st with 49ers
College: North
Carolina State
Height: 6’1” Weight: 190
Prelude:
In college,
Cofer connected on 50 of 68 field goal attempts (73.5 %), topping the Atlantic
Coast Conference in 1984 (18) and ’86 (13), and 97 of 108 PATs (89.8 %) for a
total of 247 points. Undrafted in 1987, he signed with the Cleveland Browns and
barely lost out to Jeff Jaeger in the preseason. He was a replacement player
with New Orleans during the season and then signed with the 49ers in 1988 and won
the placekicking job in the preseason, impressing with his leg strength.
1988 Season Summary
Appeared in
all 16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Kicking
Field goals –
27 [3, tied with Nick Lowery, 1st in NFC]
Most field
goals, game – 3 at Phoenix 11/6, vs. New Orleans 12/11, vs. LA Rams 12/18
Field goal
attempts – 38 [1]
Most field
goal attempts, game – 4 at NY Giants 9/11, at Seattle 9/25, at Atlanta 12/4
Field goal
percentage – 71.1 [17]
PATs – 40 [7,
tied with Chip Lohmiller]
PAT attempts
– 41 [7, tied with Chip Lohmiller]
Longest field
goal – 52 yards vs. Washington 11/21
Scoring
Field Goals –
27
PATs – 40
Points – 121
[2, 1st in NFC]
Postseason: 3
G
Field goals –
2
Most field
goals, game – 2 vs. Cincinnati, Super Bowl
Field goal
attempts – 5
Most field
goal attempts, game – 4 vs. Cincinnati, Super Bowl
PATs – 10
Most PATs,
game – 4 vs. Minnesota, NFC Divisional playoff; at Chicago, NFC Championship
PAT attempts
– 11
Longest field
goal – 41 yards vs. Cincinnati, Super Bowl
49ers went 10-6
to finish first in the NFC West while leading the conference in rushing yards
(2523) and total yards (5900). Won NFC Divisional playoff over Minnesota
Vikings (34-9), NFC Championship over Chicago Bears (28-3) & Super Bowl
over Cincinnati Bengals (20-16).
Aftermath:
Cofer
followed up by connecting on 29 of 36 field goal attempts (80.6 %), with just
one miss inside of 40 yards, and adding 49 PATs to lead the NFL with 136 points
in 1989. He received first-team All-NFL recognition from the Associated Press
and Newspaper Enterprise Association. Cofer spent a total of six years with the
49ers, with declining reliability, until being let go after the 1993 season. He
joined the Colts in ’95 and, while he had a 52-yard game-winning field goal
against the Jets, Cofer still lacked consistency and was released, ending his
career. Overall, he was successful on 133 of 201 field goal attempts (66.2 %),
with 128 of 191 coming with the 49ers. Cofer also booted 303 extra points and scored
a total of 702 points (296 PATs and 673 points with San Francisco). He received
first-team All-NFL honors once.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
