Patrick Surtain
Patrick Frank Surtain Sr. is an American football coach and former professional player who was a cornerback for 11 seasons in the National Football League. He was most recently the defensive backs coach for Florida State University from 2023 to 2025. He played college football for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. He was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the second round of the 1998 NFL draft, and also played for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Early life
Surtain attended high school at Edna Karr High School in New Orleans, where he completed 44 of 97 passes for 753 yards with seven touchdowns and rushed 137 times for 784 yards with 12 touchdowns as a quarterback. He also played baseball and ran track, and was also a member of the state title basketball and football teams in his senior year.College career
Surtain attended the University of Southern Mississippi, where he was a four-year letterman and two-year starter. In his junior year, Surtain started all 11 games and accumulated 84 tackles, 8 passes defended and six interceptions.Professional career
Miami Dolphins
1998
The Miami Dolphins selected Surtain in the second round of the 1998 NFL draft. He was the fourth cornerback drafted in 1998, after the likes of Charles Woodson and Duane Starks.On July 22, 1998, the Dolphins signed Surtain to a four–year, $2.40 million rookie contract that included a signing bonus of $800,000.
Throughout training camp, he competed to be the No. 1 starting cornerback against Terrell Buckley and Sam Madison. Head coach Jimmy Johnson named him a backup and listed him as the third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the season, behind starting duo Sam Madison and Terrell Buckley.
On September 6, 1998, Surtain made his professional regular season debut in the Miami Dolphins' season-opener at the Indianapolis Colts as they won 24–15. In Week 2, Surtain had his first career interception on a pass attempt thrown by Rob Johnson to wide receiver Eric Moulds during a 13–7 victory against the Buffalo Bills. He appeared in all 16 games as a rookie in 1998, but did not receive a start and finished the season with two interceptions.
1999
He returned under head coach Jimmy Johnson in 1999 and began the season as the third cornerback on the depth chart behind Sam Madison and Terrell Buckley. On October 17, 1999, Surtain earned his first career start in lieu of Terrell Buckley and set a season-high with seven solo tackles, made two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by Drew Bledsoe to wide receiver Vincent Brisby during a 31–30 victory at the New England Patriots. Following Week 12, head coach Jimmy Johnson named Surtain the No. 1 starting cornerback alongside Sam Madison and demoted Terrell Buckley to the third cornerback on the depth chart and nickelback. In Week 13, he started as the No. 2 starting cornerback and made four combined tackles, one pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Peyton Manning to wide receiver Marvin Harrison during a 34–37 loss against the Indianapolis Colts. In Week 17, he had five solo tackles and set a career-high with two sacks during a 10–21 loss at the Washington Redskins. He had his first career sack on Rodney Peete for a four–yard loss. He finished his sophomore season with a total of 47 combined tackles, five pass deflections, two interceptions, and two sacks in 16 games and six starts.The Miami Dolphins finished the 1999 NFL season third in the AFC East with a 9–7 record to earn a Wild-Card berth. On January 9, 2000, Surtain started in the first playoff game of his career and had three solo tackles and two pass deflections during a 20–17 victory at the Seattle Seahawks in the AFC Wild-Card Game. On January 15, 2000, he had eight solo tackles in the Dolphins' 7–62 loss at the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional Round.
2000
The Miami Dolphins promoted Dave Wannstedt to head coach after Jimmy Johnson announced his retirement from coaching following the 1999 NFL season. He entered training camp slated as the No. 2 starting cornerback under new defensive coordinator Jim Bates following the departure of Terrell Buckley via free agency. Head coach Dave Wannstedt named Surtain and Sam Madison as the starting cornerbacks to begin the season.On September 3, 2000, Surtain started in the Miami Dolphins' home-opener against the Detroit Lions and had two solo tackles, three pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by Jon Kitna to running back Ricky Watters during a 0–23 victory. The following week, he made one solo tackle and set a new career-high with four pass deflections during a 7–13 loss at the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2. In Week 11, Surtain had two solo tackles, one pass deflection, and sealed the Dolphins' 17–7 victory at the San Diego Chargers with ten seconds remaining by intercepting a pass by Jim Harbaugh to wide receiver Jeff Graham. On December 17, 2000, he set a season-high with 11 combined tackles, made three pass deflections, and had a forced fumble during a 13–20 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. He started all 16 games for the first time in his career and had a total of 54 combined tackles, set a career-high with 21 pass deflections, made five interceptions, two forced fumbles, one sack, and a fumble recovery.
2001
On March 8, 2001, the Miami Dolphins signed Surtain to a seven–year, $27.71 million contract extension that included $14.00 million guaranteed and an initial signing bonus of $6.25 million. The contract restructured the remaining year Surtain had on his rookie contract and added an additional six years to keep him under contract throughout the 2005 NFL season.He returned as the No. 2 starting cornerback alongside Sam Madison and was chosen over 2001 first-round pick Jamar Fletcher and 2000 third-round pick Ben Kelly.
On November 4, 2001, Surtain made two solo tackles, set a season-high with three pass deflections, and intercepted a pass thrown by Chris Weinke to tight end Wesley Walls and returned it 29–yards for his first career touchdown as the Dolphins defeated the Carolina Panthers 6–23. In Week 13, he set a season-high with six combined tackles during a 41–6 victory against the Indianapolis Colts. On December 30, 2001, Surtain made four combined tackles, two pass deflections, and set a season-high with two interceptions on passes thrown by Michael Vick during a 21–14 win against the Atlanta Falcons. He started all 16 games and had a total of 54 combined tackles, 16 pass deflections, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, one sack, and a touchdown.
2002
He returned as a starting cornerback along with Sam Madison for the third consecutive season under head coach Dave Wannstedt. In Week 2, Surtain made two solo tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by Peyton Manning to wide receiver Reggie Wayne before exiting in the second quarter of a 21–13 win at the Indianapolis Colts due to a knee sprain. He remained inactive for the next two games due to his sprained knee and ended his streak of 66 consecutive games and 39 consecutive starts in-a-row. On October 13, 2002, Surtain set a season-high with eight combined tackles, made one pass deflection, and had a pick-six after intercepting a pass thrown by Brian Griese and returning it for a 40–yard touchdown during a 24–22 win at the Denver Broncos. On December 15, 2002, Surtain made four combined tackles, two pass deflections, and sealed the Dolphins' 23–17 victory against the Oakland Raiders by intercepting a pass by Rich Gannon to wide receiver Jerry Rice with only 1:58 remaining in the game. He finished the season with 59 combined tackles, 11 pass deflections, six interceptions, 1.5 sacks, and one touchdown in 14 games and 14 starts. He was voted to his first career Pro Bowl and went on to play in the 2003 Pro Bowl.2003
Under defensive coordinator Jim Bates, Surtain and Sam Madison returned as the starting cornerbacks with Terrell Buckley returning and being selected to be the starting nickelback and primary backup. In Week 2, he had four combined tackles, two pass deflections, and had his first interception of the season on a pass by Vinny Testaverde during a 21–10 win at the New York Jets. The following week, he made one tackle, one pass deflection, and had his second consecutive game with an interception on a pass by Travis Henry to wide receiver Josh Reed during a 17–7 win against the Buffalo Bills in Week 3. On October 5, 2003, Surtain made three combined tackles, two pass deflections, and set a season-high with two interceptions on passes by Kerry Collins during a 23–10 win at the New York Giants. This marked his third consecutive game with an interception and his fourth in three games. In Week 7, he set a season-high with seven combined tackles during a 13–19 overtime loss to the New England Patriots. In Week 8, he recorded four solo tackles, two pass deflections, and tied his season-high of two interceptions on pass attempts by Drew Brees during a 26–10 win at the San Diego Chargers. He was inactive for the Dolphins' 7–31 loss at the Tennessee Titans in Week 10 due to a groin injury. On November 27, 2003, Surtain made two combined tackles, set a season-high with three pass deflections, and set a career-high with his seventh interception of the season on a pass by Quincy Carter to wide receiver Randal Williams during a 40–21 win at the Dallas Cowboys. He finished the season with 53 combined tackles, 15 pass deflections, and a career-high seven interceptions in 15 games and 15 starts. He was named to the 2004 Pro Bowl, earning his second consecutive Pro Bowl.2004
Surtain and Sam Madison returned as the Miami Dolphins' starting cornerback tandem for the fourth consecutive season. He was inactive for the Dolphins' 13–16 loss at the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2. On November 9, 2004, head coach Dave Wannstedt resigned after the Dolphins began the season with a 1-8 record. Defensive coordinator Jim Bates was appointed interim head coach for the remainder of the season. In Week 11, Surtain set a season-high with nine combined tackles, made two pass deflections, one sack, and intercepted a pass by Trent Dilfer to wide receiver Darrell Jackson during a 17–24 loss at the Seattle Seahawks. In Week 16, he had one solo tackle, made two pass deflections, recovered a fumble, and intercepted a pass by Luke McCown to wide receiver Dennis Northcutt during a 10–7 victory against the Cleveland Browns. He finished the season with 58 combined tackles, 11 pass deflections, four interceptions, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and one sack in 15 games and 15 starts.On February 1, 2005, it was reported by multiple sources that Miami Dolphins' General Manager Rick Spielman had agreed to allow Surtain to seek a trade after they were unable to reach an agreement for a new contract during negotiations. The Dolphins were over the salary cap limit and were unable to reach an agreement with Surtain on a restructured deal.
He finished with 344 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and 29 interceptions in 108 career games with the Dolphins.