Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Clark Haggans has died at the age of 46, according to a report by Colin Dunlap of 93.7 The Fan.
The circumstances surrounding his death were not reported. Haggans leaves behind a son, Damon, and a daughter, Alianna.
The Steelers’ fifth-round draft pick out of Colorado State in 2000, Haggans played 13 NFL seasons, the first eight of them in Pittsburgh, and was a member of the team’s Super Bowl XL championship squad in 2006. He retired from football in 2013.
Since his retirement, Haggans had been splitting his time between Pittsburgh, Denver and Las Vegas, as of our 2019 interview with him.
“I’m just being a dad,” he said. “I’m also doing some real estate and just being a dad and chilling out. … “I do some volunteer work at my former high school and help with the boosters at Colorado State too. I’m just happy and blessed to have put enough money away to be able to support my kids so they can do what makes them happy.”
Haggans played out his entire rookie contract with the Steelers as a special teams, reserve and rotational player, making just four starts over his first four seasons. But when Jason Gildon departed after the 2003 season, Haggans assumed the starting role opposite Joey Porter and manned it for four successful seasons.
His best season as a pass rusher came during the Steelers' championship 2005 season, when he posted nine sacks, 61 tackles and seven tackles for a loss. He had another 1.5 sacks, 18 tackles and two tackles for loss in the postseason run, including one sack and five tackles in Super Bowl XL.
Haggans became an unrestricted free agent in 2008 and signed with the Arizona Cardinals, where he played four years. He was on the injured reserve list when the Cardinals lost to the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII. He left Arizona and signed with the San Francisco 49ers in 2012, making one final Super Bowl run as the 49ers lost to the Baltimore Ravens, in Super Bowl XLVII, his final NFL game.
Since his retirement, Haggans cherished his time as a former Steelers player and made frequent visits to the team’s practice facility.
“Going back to Pittsburgh to visit the team — it wasn’t like how other teams did it,” Haggans said in 2019. “It’s like going to a high school reunion when you’re a Steeler. No matter who you are.”
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