Stephen Franklin (American football)
Stephen Franklin (born September 26, 1988) is an American football coach and former linebacker from Kansas City, Missouri. He played high school football at North Kansas City and college football at Southern Illinois.
In 2011, Franklin went undrafted but signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. He also spent time with the Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars that year. After a break from the NFL, he played in smaller leagues: Sioux City Bandits (CPIFL) in 2014, Colorado Ice (IFL) in 2015, and Kansas City Phantoms (CIF) in 2017, earning a second-team CIF Northern Conference honor that year and recording 2 NFL tackles in his career.
Coaching and other roles:
- Unity Christian High School (IL) coach in 2013
- Defensive coordinator at Southern Illinois in 2014
- Strength and conditioning intern at North Kansas City High School (MO) in 2019
- Defensive line coach at Turner High School (KS) in 2020
- Head coach at Bethel University (MN) from 2021 to 2022
- Special teams coordinator and inside linebackers coach at Central Missouri from 2023 to 2024
Franklin’s career has spanned playing in the NFL, indoor/alternative leagues, and coaching at the high school and college levels.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 10:31 (CET).