Mike Rosenthal

Mike Rosenthal (born June 10, 1977) is a former American football offensive tackle. He played college football at Notre Dame. He was originally drafted by the New York Giants in the fifth round of the 1999 NFL Draft.

Rosenthal is now a high school football coach at Stephen F. Austin High School in Austin, Texas. He also owns 1379 Sports with his wife, Lindsay.

Early years

In high school he was named USA Today All-America as a senior at Penn High School in Mishawaka, Indiana. He also garnered All-America honors from Parade, SuperPrep, and Blue Chip Illustrated, earning top OL honors nationally by SuperPrep and ranking # 2 by Blue Chip. He was tabbed as Indiana's Gatorade Circle of Champions Player of the Year as a senior.

He lettered three times in football, and twice in basketball.

College career

At Notre Dame he started every game his junior and senior years (*Actually he started all four years), playing G as a junior and T as a senior. As a senior he was tabbed All-America by Walter Camp Foundation and a second-team All-America by Football News. He was also honorable mention All-America by Football News as a junior, and All-Independent 1st-team choice.

Awards and honors

• First-team All-Independent (1997)
• Honorable mention Football News All-American (1997)
• First-team Walter Camp Foundation All-American (1998)
• Second-team Football News All-American (1998)

Professional career

He was drafted out of Notre Dame in the fifth round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. In 1999 he played in 9 games with 7 starts as rookie with Giants. In 2000 he played in 8 games and started 2 for the Giants, and in 2001 he played in 7 games. In 2002 he started all 16 games and the Wildcard Playoff game at RT for the Giants.

In March 2003 he became an unrestricted free agent, and signed with the Minnesota Vikings for $1.8 million. 2003 was his first season with the Vikings, and he started all 16 games at RT for the 2nd consecutive season. He helped pave the way for the Vikings' offense to rank #1 in the NFL for the first time in team history. In 2004 he suffered a broken right foot in the second game of the season. He was placed on injured reserve on Sept. 22. In 2005 he played in all 16 games, making 12 starts at right tackle. He lost his starting job to Marcus Johnson in late November, but came back to start the final two games of the season.

Hall of Fame

Rosenthal, who is Jewish,^[1] was inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. He has also been nominated to be inducted into the Indiana football hall of fame.^[2]

Beyond the Game

Mike and his wife, Lindsay, own and operate “1379 Sports” (1379Sports.com), a clothing store in Austin, Texas. The couple’s goal is to provide quality athletic apparel and footwear. In 2010, Mike began teaching and coaching football at Stephen F. Austin High School in Austin, Texas and became head football coach there in December 2011. He became the head athletic director in 2012.^[3]

See also

• List of select Jewish football players

References