The former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, Clark Haggans, who was a part of the Super Bowl XL winning team in 2005, passed away at the age of 46, as reported by a well-known Pittsburgh sports radio host on Tuesday night. The cause of death is yet to be confirmed.
Haggans was a professional football player for 13 years, 8 of which were with the Steelers, from 2000 to 2007. During his 2005 season, he demonstrated a career-high of 9 sacks, and during the opening drive of Super Bowl XL successfully sacked the Seattle Seahawk’s Matt Hasselbeck. After leaving the Steelers, Haggans went on to play for the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers, and was part of the victorious San Francisco team that won the NFC title in 2012.
He had earned himself a place in the Colorado State University Hall of Fame, as he was a standout player for the university. Haggans was picked up by the Steelers during the 5th round of the NFL Draft in 2000, and was delighted to find his college teammate, Joey Porter, had been drafted by the same team the previous year.
He had referred to his first NFL game, played in July 2000 against the Dallas Cowboys, as being “star-struck” by the presence of Troy Aikman and Randall Cunningham, whom he had previously used for his Techno-Bowl team. Haggans had also noted the difference between college and professional football, commenting that the professional playbook was far more complex and fast-paced than what he was used to.
In 2019, Haggans recollected the Super Bowl victory, noting that the coolest moment was seeing his college teammate Joey amid the post-game confetti. During his career, he accumulated 46.5 sacks and 520 tackles, including 370 solo tackles. He is survived by his two children, Damon and Alianna.