Blaine Bishop spent his youth in Indianapolis, Ind. playing high school football at the college preparatory school, Cathedral High School, where he was known as an outstanding student and athlete, with a 3.3 GPA. At Cathedral High, Bishop made All-City, All-Metro and All-State but his high school coach told him he was not good enough to play Division I football and he needed to go to a Division II school. He played college football at Division II, St. Joseph’s College. In his freshman year Bishop made All-America and was told by two NFL Scouts he was already a NFL caliber player.
Bishop was always driven to play D1 football so he transferred to Ball State University in Muncie Ind., where he stood out as a hard-hitter. However, his playing ability did not override his size in the minds of the NFL draft scouts and Bishop was not selected until the 8th round of the NFL draft landing at 214th overall with the Houston Oilers.
Bishop had a very successful 10-year career in the NFL. With the Oilers he became an anchor on the defense and a fan favorite known as the “Hit-Man” because of his hard-hitting play. When the team moved to Nashville as the Tennessee Titans, Bishop and his accompanying defense took the team to new heights, becoming the pinnacle of NFL defenses. The eighth-round pick earned four Pro Bowls in his nine years with the Titans; helping the team win their first AFC Championship Game and advance to the Super Bowl. Bishop earned Pro-Bowl starts in 1995, 1996, 1997, and 2000 and a three-time All-Pro selection in 1995, 1996, and 2000. Bishop is still widely recognized as the NFL’s premier hitting safety during his tenure with the Oilers/Tennessee Titans. Bishop’s NFL career will be remembered as one of perseverance and a work ethic that was admired not only by his team, but by his opponents.
After retiring from his playing career, Bishop went straight into sportscasting. He has a successful career starting at NewsChannel5, NFL Network and Titans Radio, and now on Nashville’s “104.5 the Zone” where he can be heard as part of their Wake Up Zone Morning Show.
Bishop is married to wife Cella of 20 years; they have one son, Chayce.