Ex-Steelers LB Clark Haggans, Super Bowl XL champion, dies at 46
Clark Haggans, a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers' Super Bowl XL championship team, has died. He was 46 years old. The Steelers confirmed his death to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, but no cause of death has been given.
Selected in the fifth round out of Colorado State in the 2000 NFL Draft, Haggans joined the Steelers a year after his college teammate, future All-Pro linebacker Joey Porter. Haggans became a staple of the team's vaunted defense for much of the next decade, taking over as a starter in 2004.
Over the course of eight seasons, Haggans accrued 332 combined tackles, 32.5 sacks, 31 tackles for loss, 17 passes defended, 12 forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. He never made a Pro Bowl, but he was a reason the Steelers never ranked outside the top 10 in total defense during his tenure in Pittsburgh.
The high point came in 2006, when Haggans notched a sack of Seattle Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck in the opening drive of the 21-10 Super Bowl XL win.
Clark Haggans' life was obviously so much more than one Super Bowl or the game of football. But he was a key piece to some great Steelers' defenses. Nine sacks in 2005. Took down Matt Hasselbeck on the opening drive of SB 40.
Rest in Peace, Clark. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/OpFq29laf2— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) June 21, 2023
Haggans left the Steelers in free agency in 2008 and signed with the Arizona Cardinals. He remained there for four more seasons — reuniting with Porter in 2010 — and ended his career after a single season with the San Francisco 49ers, in which he made a return to the Super Bowl but lost to the Baltimore Ravens.
