Clark Haggans, an outside linebacker who won a Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers during a 13-year career that included stops in Arizona and San Francisco, has died. He was 46.
Colorado State University, where Haggans starred in the late 1990s, said Haggans died on Monday. No cause of death was given.
The Steelers took a chance on Haggans in the fifth round of the 2000 draft. He responded by becoming a special teams ace before graduating into a starting role opposite Joey Porter on a defense that regularly ranked among the best in the NFL.
Haggans’ finest season came in 2005. He racked up a career-best nine sacks and was a disruptive force in the playoffs as Pittsburgh won three straight road games to reach the Super Bowl. Haggans had one of three Pittsburgh sacks in the title game against the Seahawks as the Steelers earned their fifth championship.
Haggans headed west to Arizona in 2008 but went down with a foot injury in mid-December, forcing him to sit out a postseason run that ended with the Cardinals falling to Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl.
Haggans played for Arizona from 2008-11 and spent his final season in the league with the 49ers in 2012, finishing with 46.5 sacks in 172 games.
Haggans grew up near Torrance, California, before playing at Colorado State in the late 1990s. He helped the Rams to a pair of Western Athletic Conference titles and his 33 sacks remain a program record. He had a son and a daughter.