Tony Casillas

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Casillas, of Mexican and Cherokee descent, was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on October 16, 1963. He attended Tulsa East Central High School where he was an All-State player. He had a difficult start to his college football career. As a redshirt freshman he suffered an ankle injury, contracted mononucleosis and was lost for the entire season. The next year, he played sparingly at defensive tackle, registering only 10 tackles. In 1984, Casillas was moved to nose guard and became a starter, receiving consensus All-American and first-team All-Conference honors. In 1985, he became only the second Sooner ever to win the Lombardi Award, which is given to the nation's top lineman. He was named the UPI Lineman of the Year, the Big Eight Conference defensive player of the year, a consensus first team All-American and first team All-Conference. He ended his college career with 18 sacks and 213 career tackles in addition to graduating with Academic All-American honors in 1985, and a degree in public relations. In 2004, Casillas became the second Hispanic (his father is Mexican and his mother comes from Irish and Native American descent) to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The National Football Foundation named Casillas the College Defensive Player of the Decade for the 1980s. In 2008, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. Casillas was inducted in to the Oklahoma Hispanic Hall of Fame on March 13, 2025 at a ceremony at Oklahoma City Community College in South Oklahoma City. He was introduced by his former coach Barry Switzer and gave the keynote address at the event.

In Their Own Story

The 1989 season marked the absolute peak of Casillas's time in Atlanta. He became one of the league's best players at his position, amassing 152 tackles—a figure that remains the team record for any defensive lineman. His intensity was unmatched, but the drama off the field often matched the action on it. By 1990, tensions with head coach Jerry Glanville escalated into a contract holdout that cost him his starting spot to rookie Tory Epps. The situation worsened when Casillas missed a team flight to a game against the Los Angeles Rams, resulting in a two-week suspension without pay. After playing only nine games as a backup amidst injuries and discipline issues, he announced his retirement at the start of the 1991 season. His departure came via trade to the Dallas Cowboys for second and eighth-round draft choices in the 1992 NFL draft, leaving behind a legacy of 478 tackles, the most ever by any Falcons defensive lineman.

Reader's Guide

Casillas was selected second overall in the first round of the 1986 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons. The team was switching to a 3-4 defense, so they needed him to be their nose tackle, he responded by becoming a starter as a rookie and making 111 tackles and a sack. He also made the league's all-rookie team. The next year, he suffered a stress fracture of his left fibula and was placed on the injured reserve list. In the strike-shortened 1987 season, he played just nine games and had 72 tackles. During the 1988 preseason, he left camp for three weeks to get guidance from a psychologist, suffering he said, from the stress of playing in professional football. He returned to the team with a new attitude and in time to start the regular season, where he made 111 tackles and was named a Pro Bowl alternate. He exploded in 1989, becoming one of the best players at his position in the league with 152 tackles (still a team record for a defensive lineman) and was named second-team All-Pro and a Pro Bowl alternate. In 1990, he held out in a contract dispute from head coach Jerry Glanville's first Falcons training camp, causing him to lose his starting job to rookie Tory Epps. The problems escalated from there on, he eventually missed a 44–24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams after failing to catch the team flight. The Falcons suspended him for two weeks without pay. Between injuries and discipline incidents, he only played in nine games as a backup. At the start of the 1991 season, he announced he was retiring, so the Falcons traded him to the Dallas Cowboys for second, and eighth round draft choices in the 1992 NFL draft. During his five-year span in Atlanta, Casillas had 478 tackles, the most ever by any Falcons defensive lineman and fourth best overall in franchise history. The Dallas Cowboys welcomed Casillas to training camp with the news that he would play left tackle in a 4–3 defense where the No. 1 overall draft pick Russell Maryland was also going to play. He eventually won the starting spot and became part of the best defense and the best defensive-line rotation in the NFL. His career was revived in Dallas as a specialist at stopping the run. He also was a part of back to back victories in Super Bowl XXVII and XXVIII against the Buffalo Bills two years in a row. Casillas left the team via free agency to join the Kansas City Chiefs for the 1994 season. He immedia

Did You Know?

• Casillas was of Mexican and Cherokee descent, born in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
• He won the Lombardi Award and was UPI Lineman of the Year in 1985.
• He was part of the Dallas Cowboys' back-to-back Super Bowl victories in XXVII and XXVIII.
• Casillas was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
• He was named the College Defensive Player of the Decade for the 1980s by the National Football Foundation.