Lawless accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Doug Dickey's Florida Gators football team from 1971 to 1974. As a freshman, he broke his shoulder on his first practice and was moved to offensive tackle when he returned to the team, and eventually to offensive guard, where he arguably became the best pulling guard in Gators history. He was a three-year starter, a second-team All-Southeastern conference selection in 1973 and 1974, and a first-team All-American during his senior season in 1974. He also played in the 1975 Chicago College All-Star Game. Lawless returned to the university during the NFL off-season to finish his bachelor's degree in exercise and sport sciences in 1977, and he was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1978. In one of a series of articles published by The Gainesville Sun in 2006, he was recognized as one of the top 100 Gators of the first 100 years of Florida football.
Professional career
Lawless was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 1975 NFL Draft, also known as the Dirty Dozen draft. Mitch Hoopes and him were the only rookies to earn starting jobs, with Lawless replacing the traded John Niland at left guard and becoming the first team rookie to start in the offensive line since. At the end of the season, he was named to the NFL All-Rookie team. In, the improved play of Herbert Scott forced him into a platoon role. In, he was moved to right guard but lost the starting job to Tom Rafferty. Injuries to Scott and John Fitzgerald allowed him to start 6 games. The next year, he was back to serving as a messenger guard, alternating mainly with Rafferty. After requesting to be traded, he retired in during training camp and was subsequently traded to the Miami Dolphins for a draft choice on August 19. During his time with the Cowboys, he was a part of three Super Bowl teams, winning Super Bowl XII. The Miami Dolphins released him on September 1,. On October 23, he signed as a free agent with the Detroit Lions, where he played in nine games. He was released on August 31,. On November 17, he was signed by the Miami Dolphins to be a backup behind Bob Kuechenberg for the last five games of the 1981 season. In April, Lawless signed a contract with the Chicago Bears. In May, during the off-season, a 12-foot, 5,000-pound plow-arm fell on his head and neck, causing him to be paralyzed from the neck down for 17 days and ending his professional career. During his seven-season NFL career, Lawless played in eighty-two games, and started in twenty-three of them.
Personal life
Lawless attended the Cowboys alumni reunion and closing ceremony at Texas Stadium in Dallas on December 20, 2008.
