Steelers Throwback Thursday: Haggans “break out” led to Super Bowl ring
Steel City Underground takes fans back in time to feature events, special moments, and historical times and players in the world of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Steelers Nation. Join us as we revisit these moments in our “Steelers Throwback Thursday” series.
The Pittsburgh Steelers exited the 2004 NFL season with a loss in the AFC Championship game to the New England Patriots determined to get back to the playoffs during the 2005 NFL season. Clark Haggans, who took over at left outside linebacker for a departed Jason Gildon, put in the work with Joey Porter (ROLB), James Farrior (LILB), and Larry Foote (RILB) to keep the Steelers defense disruptive from opening day all the way to a Super Bowl XL victory over the Seattle Seahawks on February 5, 2006.
Steelers fans, saddened at the news of Haggans’ passing on June 19 (2023) at the age of 46, were expressive in sharing memories of the former Steelers and NFL linebacker. We look back at his break out season in 2005 that led to Haggans winning a Super Bowl ring.
Haggans, who was a defensive end at Colorado State University, walked on before earning a scholarship and played there with both Joey Porter and Adrian Ross. His 33 sacks remain the all-time sack record at the university.
The Steelers drafted Haggans in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. At the time, Pittsburgh had Gildon and Mike Vrabel entrenched at outside linebacker with Porter (drafted in 1999) as primary backup. John Fiala, Earl Holmes, and Levon Kirkland were the primary interior linebackers. Behind such big names and successful playmakers, Haggans was in position on the depth chart to learn.
In 2004, the Steelers had revamped parts of their defense – including the linebackers group. Haggans earned his first shot as the primary starter but played just 13 games (13 starts) opposite Porter.
In 2005, the two former collegiate teammates created a one-two punch on the edge that was special.
“He was a critical part and piece of that defense… (Haggans) radiated energy every single day.” – former Steelers teammate Chris Hoke to Ron Cook.
Haggans logged nine sacks during the regular season, trailing just Porter (10.5) in that statistic. Haggans also recorded two pass defenses, created four forced fumbles, had seven tackles for a loss, and 61 tackles (42 solo).
In Super Bowl XL, Haggans recorded a sack on Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and ranked second on defense in tackles. Pittsburgh defeated Seattle for their fifth Super Bowl victory in franchise history.
In 2008, Haggans went to the Arizona Cardinals and played there until he joined the San Francisco Forty-Niners in 2012. Haggans truly had a break out in 2005, though, and was unable to reproduce that level of production as a player outside of Pittsburgh.
