 Faneca with thePittsburgh Steelers in 2007 | |||||||||
| No. 65, 66 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Guard | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1976-12-07)December 7, 1976 (age 48) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 316 lb (143 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Lamar Consolidated(Rosenberg, Texas) | ||||||||
| College | LSU (1994–1997) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1998: 1st round, 26th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Alan Joseph Faneca (/ˈfænɪkə/; born December 7, 1976) is an American former professionalfootball player who was aguard in theNational Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons. He playedcollege football forLouisiana State University (LSU), and earned consensusAll-America honors. He was selected by thePittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the1998 NFL draft, and played professionally for the Steelers,New York Jets andArizona Cardinals of the NFL. A six-time first-teamAll-Pro and nine-timePro Bowl selection, Faneca won aSuper Bowl ring with the Steelers inSuper Bowl XL, defeating theSeattle Seahawks. He was elected to thePro Football Hall of Fame in 2021 and on May 10, 2021, he was introduced as the head football coach of Frank W. Cox High School inVirginia Beach, Virginia.
Faneca attendedJohn Curtis Christian School inRiver Ridge, Louisiana from 1987 to 1990. While attending John Curtis Christian he played football and basketball for the 27-time state champions while in middle and junior high school. Faneca then attendedLamar Consolidated High School inRosenberg, Texas, lettering in football andtrack. He was an All-Greater Houston,Orlando Sentinel All-South, and Touchdown Club of Houston player of the year. Faneca began havingseizures, which were later diagnosed asepilepsy, at age 15.[1] He started on medication to control it and was able to continue playing football.
Faneca attendedLouisiana State University, and played for theLSU Tigers football team from 1994 to 1997. As a freshman in 1994, he wasredshirted. He was voted theSoutheastern Conference freshman of the year by theKnoxville News Sentinel in 1995. In 1996, he was selected as a second-teamAll-American. As a junior in 1997, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American and was also one of three finalists for 1997Outland Trophy.
In the 1997 home game against theFlorida Gators, Faneca was called "a beast" for having repeatedly driven the Gators off the field and creating openings for the Tiger backs to charge through.[2]
Faneca started his last 36 games at LSU and allowed only one sack in his final season. He had 210pancake blocks in his college career. He returned to school in 1999 and earned a bachelor's degree in management entrepreneurship.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft4+5⁄8 in (1.95 m) | 322 lb (146 kg) | 33+3⁄4 in (0.86 m) | 10+1⁄4 in (0.26 m) | 5.47 s | 1.87 s | 3.10 s | 4.71 s | 8.66 s | 26.0 in (0.66 m) | 7 ft 10 in (2.39 m) | 20 reps | |
| All values fromNFL Combine[3] | ||||||||||||
Faneca was selected by thePittsburgh Steelers in the first round (26th overall) in the1998 NFL draft.[4] He saw limited playing time at first but injuries to fellow SteelersWill Wolford andJim Sweeney allowed him to get his first start against theCincinnati Bengals. He earned the Joe Greene Award as the team's toprookie. In 1999 against theCleveland Browns he was having a bad season debut before leaving the game at halftime, after suffering a left ankle injury late in the second quarter of the game and played the rest of the first half after sustaining the injury but did not play during the second half. AgainstBaltimore Ravens he returned from his ankle injury but was replaced in the second half byRoger Duffy. One of his best games of the season was against theCincinnati Bengals helping to pave the way forJerome Bettis first 100-yard game of that season. Against theCarolina Panthers helped pave the way for Bettis season-high 137 yards rushing and the Steelers second-highest rushing performance of the season.
In 2000, Faneca helped the Steelers rank fourth in the league in rushing, one of only 10 teams to compile more than 2,000 yards rushing in 2000. He had his best season to date when he was named a starter in the 2002Pro Bowl his first selection to the squad, and also was namedAll-Pro by theAssociated Press,The Sporting News,Sports Illustrated andFootball Digest, and was named to Pro Football Weekly's-All-NFL team. He had an offseason surgery on his right wrist and missed some playing time during the teams preseason. In the 2002 season he was named toPro Football Weekly's All-NFL and All-AFC team. Also selected to theUSA Today Sports Weekly's All-Pro team was voted to his second consecutive Pro Bowl In 2003, he switched positions from left guard to left tackle due to injuries, helping teammateAmos Zereoué to three 100-yard performances during the season. He helpedrunning backsJerome Bettis,Duce Staley, andWillie Parker set individual and team rushing records, as well as propelling the Steelers toSuper Bowl XL inDetroit, in which Pittsburgh defeated theSeattle Seahawks 21–10. He helped spring Parker to a 75-yard touchdown run that is currently the longest run inSuper Bowl history. In the 2007 season he helped quarterbackBen Roethlisberger to a perfectpasser rating of 158.3 andNajeh Davenport to 123 rushing yards in week 16 atSt. Louis Rams. He led the way for Willie Parker's 105-yard rushing performance in week 10 against the Browns, and was the key to Steelers ground attack rolling for 205 yards in week 3 vs.San Francisco 49ers, as well as the 206-yard rushing effort in the season opener at Cleveland.
In 2007, Faneca was voted to the Steelers 75th Anniversary All Time Team by Steeler fans.
On March 1, 2008, theNew York Jets signed Faneca to a five-year, $40 million contract, with $21 million in guarantees. The contract made Faneca the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history (a distinction quickly overtaken by rookieJake Long).[5] Faneca was expected to provide veteran leadership to a Jets offensive line that included three former first-round picks from 1999 and 2006,D'Brickashaw Ferguson,Nick Mangold andDamien Woody. Later that offseason, the Jets acquiredBrett Favre via trade from Green Bay. Favre and Faneca have since been selected as Pro Football Hall of Famers, with Favre being inducted in 2016 and Faneca in 2021.[6]
Faneca rapidly made an impact on the Jets rushing attack, propelling it to 2006 yards and 20 touchdowns,[7] and led the 4–12 Jets to a 9–7 record in 2008, good for third in theAFC East.
In 2009, Faneca anchored the Jets to 2756 yards and 21 touchdowns, again leading the Jets to a 9–7 record and securing a wild-card playoff berth. They proceeded to defeat theCincinnati Bengals in a 24–14 victory in that wildcard game. In an AFC divisional playoff game, the Jets beat the favored San Diego Chargers 17–14 behindShonn Greene's 128 rushing yards and a touchdown andThomas Jones's 41 yards, totaling 169 yards on the ground. They surprised many observers by beating the Chargers and going to the AFC Championship game where they eventually succumbed to the Indianapolis Colts 30–17.
Faneca was cut from the Jets on April 24, 2010, after they selectedVladimir Ducasse in the second round of the2010 NFL draft.[8]
Faneca agreed to terms with theArizona Cardinals on a one-year, $2.5 million deal, which included a $300,000 signing bonus and a $100,000 workout bonus,[9] and reunited him with his former Steelers coachKen Whisenhunt and offensive line coachRuss Grimm.
Faneca retired on May 10, 2011, ending his distinguished career with nine Pro Bowl appearances, eight All-Pro selections, and a Super Bowl ring.
In recognition of the weight-related health issues experienced by many retired players, he has lost over 100 pounds since his retirement.[10] In February 2014, Faneca successfully completed the New Orleans Rock 'n' Roll Marathon with a finish time of 3:56:17.[11]On February 6, 2021, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Faneca married Julie Kuchta of Virginia Beach, whom he met as a freshman at LSU. They have three children. In 2021, he was named head coach of football atFrank W. Cox High School in Virginia Beach.[12] Faneca stepped down as coach on 19 December 2022 after leading Cox High to a 16–8 record over two seasons.[13]
