 Dean with theSan Francisco 49ers in 1984 | |||||||||||||
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| Position | Defensive end | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1952-02-24)February 24, 1952 Arcadia, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Died | October 14, 2020(2020-10-14) (aged 68) Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Ruston(Ruston, Louisiana) | ||||||||||||
| College | Louisiana Tech (1971–1974) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1975: 2nd round, 33rd overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
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Frederick Rudolph Dean[1][2] (February 24, 1952 – October 14, 2020) was an American professionalfootball player who was adefensive end in theNational Football League (NFL). A two-time first-teamAll-Pro and a four-timePro Bowler, he won twoSuper Bowls with theSan Francisco 49ers. He was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
Dean playedcollege football for theLouisiana Tech Bulldogs. He was selected in the second round of the1975 NFL draft by theSan Diego Chargers. He was traded to San Francisco in 1981 due to a contract dispute. He is a member of both theChargers Hall of Fame and49ers Hall of Fame.
Dean was born inArcadia,[2] the seat ofBienville Parish in northLouisiana. He grew up 20 miles (32 km) east inRuston, where he attended the all-Black,segregated Lincoln High School. Afterintegration, he moved as ajunior toRuston High, where he graduated.[2][3]
Dean was a standout atLouisiana Tech University in Ruston, having spurned an opportunity to play for legendary coachEddie Robinson at nearbyGrambling State University, which at the time was sendingAfrican American players to the NFL on a yearly basis, as well asSoutheastern Conference powerLSU, where former Ruston High starBert Jones was the starting quarterback (at the time of Dean's recruitment, LSU did not have a black player in its program).[4] Playing mostly as anend,[5] Dean excelled as adefensive lineman for theBulldogs and was a four-time all-conference selection and two-time conference defensive player of the year in theSouthland Conference.[6][7] He was anAll-American as a senior in 1974.[7]
Dean was selected by theSan Diego Chargers in the second round of the1975 NFL draft with the 33rd overall pick. Chargers coachTommy Prothro initially projected him as alinebacker but eventually relented to Dean's wish to remain a lineman.[5] As a rookie, he had sevensacks and registered his career-high of 93tackles.[8] He recorded15+1⁄2 sacks in1978.[5] In1979, the Chargers won theAFC West division while leading the AFC in fewest points allowed (246).[9] Dean had nine sacks in 13 games and was named to the All-AFC team.[10][11]
The Chargers again won the AFC West in1980, with Dean teaming with fellow 1975 Charger drafteesGary "Big Hands" Johnson andLouie Kelcher as the Chargers led the NFL in sacks (60).[12][13] Dean had missed the first two games of the season after not reporting, but still finished the season with10+1⁄2 sacks.[14] He and Johnson were named first-teamAll-Pro, with Kelcher being named second-team All-Pro. The trio along withLeroy Jones formed a defensive front that was nicknamed theBruise Brothers.[12][13]
In1981, Dean was traded to theSan Francisco 49ers due to a contract dispute with Chargers' ownership.[15] He complained that he was the lowest-paid sixth-year defensive lineman in 1980 and that his salary was below the average of all defensive linemen.[16][17] Dean contended that he was making the same amount of money as his brother-in-law who was a truck driver.[18] Originally set to make $75,000 that season,[19] the 49ers renegotiated his contract to reportedly near $150,000 a year.[20] The Chargers' defense would not be the same afterwards, andDon "Air" Coryell's Chargers teams are now most remembered for its high-scoring, pass-oriented offense that did not have enough defense to make it to a Super Bowl. In 2013,U-T San Diego called the Chargers trading Dean "perhaps the biggest blunder in franchise history".[21] "I can't say how much it affected us, because we did make it to the AFC championship game," said Johnson of the Chargers without Dean. "But I could say if we had more pass rush from the corner, it might've been different".[5]
With San Francisco, Dean was used as apass-rush specialist, playing only when the 49ers switched from a3–4 defense to a4–3 or a4–2 nickel.[19][1] He joined the team mid-season for Game 6 against theDallas Cowboys.[22] After only a couple of practices, he played and was still able to record two sacks and apply pressure and repeatedly hurryDanny White in a 45–14 win by the 49ers. His performance was noted by author Tom Danyluk as "the greatest set of downs I have ever seen unleashed by a pass rusher".[23] In what had been a game of possum,Bill Walsh, the 49er head coach, said toJohn Madden, who covered the game, "Fred (Dean) just got here... If he plays, he won't play much".[24] But he played the whole game.[25]
Two weeks later at home against theLos Angeles Rams, the 49ers won 20–17 for their first-ever win against the Rams at home inCandlestick Park, as Dean sackedPat Haden4+1⁄2 times.[19] Dean was named theUPI NFC Defensive Player of the Year with 12 sacks while playing in 11 games for the 49ers.[26] The 49ers went on to winSuper Bowl XVI that year, andSteve Sabol (NFL Films) is quoted in 2006 as saying that Dean's acquisition was the last meaningful in-season trade, in that it affected the destination of the Lombardi Trophy.[10] San Francisco, which was 3–2 when Dean arrived, won 13 of their final 14 games, including the playoffs.[27]
In1983, Dean recorded a career-high17+1⁄2 sacks to lead the NFC and recorded a then-NFL record of six in one game, setting that mark during the 49ers’ 27–0 shutout of theNew Orleans Saints on November 13, 1983.[28]
Dean was also a key player on the1984 squad than wonSuper Bowl XIX. He was reunited with his former Charger teammates Johnson, Kelcher andBilly Shields, who were acquired by the 49ers.[15]
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Dean ended his NFL career with 93 unofficial sacks, according to theProfessional Football Researchers Association.[29] Dean was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 2008,[28] when his bust, sculpted byScott Myers, was unveiled.[30][31][32] He was also named to both theChargers' 40th and50th anniversary teams and inducted into theChargers Hall of Fame.[33][34][35]
Dean was inducted into theLouisiana Tech University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990 and theLouisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.[6][36] In 2009, Dean was elected to theCollege Football Hall of Fame.[7]
After his football career, Dean was a minister in his hometown, Ruston.[37]
Dean died fromCOVID-19 while being airlifted from a hospital inWest Monroe, Louisiana, toJackson, Mississippi, on October 14, 2020, during theCOVID-19 pandemic. He was 68.[1][38]
Dean is one of at least 345NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated hits to the head.[39][40]
It's been called the trade of all in-season football trades by NFL Films' Steve Sabol.
The 2001 class was good, but the 1975 class ranks the best. San Diego had four of the first 33 picks in the draft, and the Chargers selected three defensive linemen that would form the nucleus of "The Bruise Brothers" and once formed three-fourths of the AFC Pro Bowl defensive line.(subscription required)
10 or 12 plays turned into a whole game against the Dallas Cowboys
In 1981, the 49ers, coming off a 6-10 season, acquired Dean in a trade from San Diego when they were 3-2. They proceeded to win 13 of their last 14 games, including the Super Bowl.
During a career made up of six seasons in San Diego and five in San Francisco, he had 93 sacks, by the count of John Turney of the Pro Football Researchers Association.