Hines Ward
Hines Edward Ward Jr. born March 8, 1976 is an American football coach as well as former wide receiver of a National Football League NFL. He played college football at the University of Georgia & was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He is currently the wide receivers coach of the Florida Atlantic Owls and he is the XFL head coach for the San Antonio Team. Ward played his entire expert career for the Steelers and he became the team's all-time leader in receptions, receiving yardage and touchdown receptions. Ward was voted MVP of Super Bowl XL and upon retirement was one of eleven NFL players to realize at least 1,000 career receptions. Aside from his career in the NFL, Ward has appeared in various forms of film and television media, including the reality TV series Dancing With The Stars and brief cameos in the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises and in the television series The Walking Dead. He was a studio analyst for NBC's Football Night in America from 2012 to 2015. Ward joined CNN and HLN in May 2016. He was the player relations executive of the Alliance of American Football. In 2019, Ward began his coaching career as an offensive assistant for the New York Jets, workings with wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson. In 2021, Ward was hired by Florida Atlantic as special assistant to the head coach.
Born in Seoul, South Korea to a Korean mother and African-American father, Ward grew up in the Atlanta area. He has become an advocate for the social acceptance of foreigners in Korea, particularly blended or mixed race youth.