He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round of the 1995 NFL draft.
As a senior, he helped the school win the 6A state title, while receiving Parade All-America and All-state honors.
After being redshirted because the team had starter Darrick Brownlow at middle linebacker, in his freshman season he posted 134 tackles (conference record) and 4 sacks.
From the start of his sophomore season he was a member of a talented linebacker corps that included fellow standouts Kevin Hardy, Simeon Rice and John Holecek.
[6] On November 6, 1996, he signed with the Chicago Bears,[7] playing in three games before breaking a finger and being placed on the injured reserve list.
[9] He is the owner of Zoie LLC DBA Dana Howard Construction Company based in Belleville, Illinois.
In November 2024 Howard was indicted by a federal grand jury on fraud charges related to the covid Paycheck Protection Program.