Natrone Means

American football player and coach (born 1972)

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American football player

Natrone MeansNorth Carolina Tar Heels

Position:| Running Backs Coach
Personal information
Born:|  (1972-04-26) April 26, 1972 (age 53)
Harrisburg, North Carolina, U.S.
Height:| 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:| 245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school:| Central Cabarrus (Concord, North Carolina)
College:| North Carolina (1990–1992)
NFL draft:| 1993: 2nd round, 41st pick
Career history

As a player:

* San Diego Chargers (1993–1995)
* Jacksonville Jaguars (1996–1997)
* San Diego Chargers (1998–1999)
* Carolina Panthers (2000)

As a coach:

* Livingstone (2005)
Running backs coach
* Livingstone (2006)
Offensive coordinator / running backs coach
* West Charlotte HS (NC) (2007–2008)
Offensive coordinator / running backs coach
* Winston Salem State (2014–2017)
Running backs coach
* Winston Salem State (2018–2019)
Assistant head coach / offensive coordinator
* Fayetteville State (2020)
Assistant head coach / offensive coordinator
* North Carolina (2021–2024)
Offensive analyst
* North Carolina (2025–present)
Running backs coach

Career highlights and awards

* Pro Bowl (1994)
* San Diego Chargers 50th Anniversary Team
* 2× First-team All-ACC (1991, 1992)

Career NFL statistics
| Rushing yards:| 5,215

|

Rushing average:| 3.7
Rushing touchdowns:| 45
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Natrone Jermaine Means (born April 26, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Diego Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Carolina Panthers from 1993 to 2000.

Means played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels. He was selected by the Chargers in the second round (41st overall) of the 1993 NFL draft.[1] In 1994, he was selected for the Pro Bowl during San Diego's Super Bowl season. He is a member of the San Diego Chargers 50th Anniversary Team.

Means was nicknamed Natrone "Refried" Means and, later, "Natrone Means Business" by ESPN's Chris Berman.[2] He is currently an assistant coach for the Tar Heels.[3]

## Early life and high school career

[edit]

Means' love for football began by watching his older brother one season at football practice. He then started playing Pee Wee football at age 7.

Means attended Central Cabarrus High School in Concord, North Carolina in Cabarrus County. He started on the junior varsity football team for the Central Cabarrus Vikings as a freshman in 1986. After only seven games, he was promoted to the varsity team his freshman season. As a sophomore, he played on the varsity team as a running back and cornerback. His first two touches that season were 60-plus yard touchdown scores. He went on to have standout junior and senior seasons. As a senior, he ran for more than 2,300 yards and 33 touchdowns while playing in the second half of games only twice during the regular season. During high school, Means was recruited by several large universities including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of South Carolina, Florida State University, and the University of Tennessee.[4][5]

## College career

[edit]

Means attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and finished his career with 605 rushing attempts of 3,074 yards (5.1 yards per rushing attempt avg.), and 34 touchdowns, and hauled in 61 receptions of 500 yards (8.19 yards per rec. avg.). He rushed for more than 1,000 yards as both a sophomore and junior.

* 1990: 168 carries for 849 yards with 10 TD. 24 catches for 229 yards with 1 TD.
* 1991: 201 carries for 1,030 yards with 11 TD. 23 catches for 178 yards.
* 1992: 236 carries for 1,195 yards with 13 TD. 14 catches for 93 yards.

## Professional career

[edit]

Pre-draft measurables  Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Bench press

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5 ft 10+3⁄8 in
(1.79 m)  | 255 lb
(116 kg)  | 31+7⁄8 in
(0.81 m)  | 9+1⁄8 in
(0.23 m) | 18 reps

Means played from 1993 to 1995 for the Chargers, and was a Pro Bowl selection in 1994 after leading his team to the Super Bowl XXIX going up against the San Francisco 49ers, only to lose 49–26.[6][7] Scoring a touchdown in the Super Bowl, he broke William Perry's record for the youngest player to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl at age 22. This was eventually broken by 21-year-old Jamal Lewis in the Super Bowl XXXV. He was waived by San Diego before the 1996 season and signed with the Jaguars. Means returned to San Diego as an unrestricted free agent in 1998, but left as a free agent for the Panthers in 2000. He retired at the end of the season in 2000.

Means was named in the San Diego Chargers 50th Anniversary Team in 2009.[8] He was a finalist in 2012 to be inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame.[9]

## NFL career statistics

[edit]

Rushing statistics

Year | Team | GP | Att | Yards | Avg | Lng | TD | FD | Fum | Lost

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1993 | SD | 16 | 160 | 645 | 4.0 | 65 | 8 | 48 | 1 | 1
1994 | SD | 16 | 343 | 1,350 | 3.9 | 25 | 12 | 79 | 5 | 4
1995 | SD | 10 | 186 | 730 | 3.9 | 36 | 5 | 39 | 2 | 2
1996 | JAX | 14 | 152 | 507 | 3.3 | 35 | 2 | 27 | 3 | 1
1997 | JAX | 14 | 244 | 823 | 3.4 | 20 | 9 | 43 | 4 | 3
1998 | SD | 10 | 212 | 883 | 4.2 | 72 | 5 | 42 | 1 | 1
1999 | SD | 7 | 112 | 277 | 2.5 | 15 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 0
Career | 87 | 1,409 | 5,215 | 3.7 | 72 | 45 | 294 | 16 | 12

Receiving statistics

Year | Team | GP | Rec | Yards | Avg | Lng | TD | FD | Fum | Lost

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1993 | SD | 16 | 10 | 59 | 5.9 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0
1994 | SD | 16 | 39 | 235 | 6.0 | 22 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0
1995 | SD | 10 | 7 | 46 | 6.6 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
1996 | JAX | 14 | 7 | 45 | 6.4 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0
1997 | JAX | 14 | 15 | 104 | 6.9 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0
1998 | SD | 10 | 16 | 91 | 5.7 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1
1999 | SD | 7 | 9 | 51 | 5.7 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0
Career | 87 | 103 | 631 | 6.1 | 22 | 2 | 23 | 2 | 1

[10]

## Coaching career

[edit]

In 2005, Means joined the staff of Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina as running backs coach and in 2006 was promoted to offensive coordinator. He was recruited by head coach Robert Massey, who played with Means on the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1996. Means honed his coaching skills while participating in the NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship Program during the summer months of 2003 and 2006 with the Atlanta Falcons.

In 2007, Means was the offensive coordinator at the historical powerhouse West Charlotte High School in Charlotte, North Carolina. During training camp for the 2008 season, Means again participated in the NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship Program, working with the running backs of the Carolina Panthers.

In May 2014, Means became running backs coach at Winston-Salem State University. He was the associate head coach and offensive coordinator at Winston-Salem State.[11]

In March 2021, Means became an offensive analyst at North Carolina.[3]

In January 2025, Means was promoted to running backs coach at North Carolina.[12]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "1993 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
2. ^ Kelly, Fletcher (July 10, 2009). "A Forgotten Player Of The NFL: Natrone Means". Bleacher Report. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
3. ^ a b "Natrone Means heading back to North Carolina as an assistant football coach". www.journalnow.com. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
4. ^ "Natrone Means, The Natural". 247Sports. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
5. ^ Donahue, Ben (August 21, 2024). "The Life And Career Of Natrone Means". Pro Football History. Retrieved May 14, 2025.
6. ^ "1994 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
7. ^ "Super Bowl XXIX - San Diego Chargers vs. San Francisco 49ers - January 29th, 1995". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
8. ^ "Chargers 50th anniversary team". The Press-Enterprise. November 17, 2009. Archived from the original on December 18, 2009.
9. ^ Gehlken, Michael (July 16, 2012). "Fans to decide next Chargers Hall of Famer". U-T San Diego. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013.
10. ^ "Natrone Means Stats". ESPN Internet Vnetures. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
11. ^ "Where they are now: Natrone Means". www.jaguars.com. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
12. ^ Parks, James (January 31, 2025). "Bill Belichick, UNC promote Natrone Means to RBs coach: report". SI.com. Retrieved March 9, 2025.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Wilner, Barry (January 22, 1995), "The Natrone Bomb", The Sunday Courier (The Associated Press), pp. 4B, retrieved August 31, 2009

## External links

[edit]

* North Carolina profile
* Winston-Salem State profile

* v
* t
* e

San Diego Chargers 1993 NFL draft selections

* Darrien Gordon
* Natrone Means
* Joe Cocozzo
* Raylee Johnson
* Lewis Bush
* Walter Dunson
* Eric Castle
* Doug Miller
* Trent Green

* v
* t
* e

San Diego Chargers 50th Anniversary Team

Offense|

Fouts
Hadl
Humphries
Rivers

Lincoln
P. Lowe
Means
Muncie
Tomlinson

Alworth
Chandler
Garrison
Jefferson
Joiner

Gates
Winslow

Mix
Washington
Wright

Dielman
Sweeney
White
Wilkerson

Hardwick
Macek

Defense|

Dean
Faison
O’Neal

Johnson
Kelcher
Ladd
Williams

Allen
W. Lowe
Merriman
Seau
Smith

Buchanon
Byrd
Harrison
Jammer
McNeil

Special teams|

Benirschke
Carney

Duncan
Sproles

Bennett
Scifres

Bauer
Osgood

Coaches|

Coryell
Gillman
Ross
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