49ers sack master Dean dies
He helped revolutionize defensive end position, turn San Francisco into a great NFL dynasty
SAN FRANCISCO >> Fred Dean, a driving force who helped turn the perennially underachieving San Francisco 49ers into one of the greatest dynasties in professional football, died Wednesday night. He was 68.
Dean, a fearsome defensive end who helped transform the position during an 11-year NFL career, was on a ventilator after he had been infected with the coronavirus, according to former San Francisco teammate Dwight Hicks.
“The entire Pro Footba l l Ha l l of Fame family mourns the passing of Fred Dean,” Pro Football Hall of Fame President & CEO David Baker said in a statement. “He exemplified many of the values learned from this great game — commitment, integrity, courage — over the course of his life. Our thoughts and prayers are with Fred’s wife, Pam, and their entire family. We will forever keep his legacy alive to serve as inspiration for future generations. The Hall of Fame flag will be flown at halfstaff in Fred’s memory.”
Dean won Super Bowls XVI and XIX with the Niners after he arrived from San Diego in a trade early in the 1981 season following a contract dispute with the Chargers. He finished his first season in San Francisco as a Super Bowl champion and an AllPro selection.
In 1983, Dean was again named an All-Pro before capturing his second Super Bowl with the 49ers after the 1984 season. He retired after the 1985 season and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
For most of his career, the NFL did not compile sack statistics, but Dean racked up 17½ sacks in 1983, good for second in the league that year behind the Jets’ Mark Gastineau (19).
“The 49ers family is heartbroken to learn of the passing of one of the game’s all-time greats, Fred Dean,” the 49ers organization said in a statement Thursday morning. “Fred not only impacted countless opposing quarterbacks throughout his career, but also the future of the game of football as one of the NFL’s first true pass rushing specialists. Although sacks did not become an official NFL statistic until Fred’s eighth season in the league, his 93.5 sacks would rank among the top 50 all-time to this day.
“From the minute he joined the 49ers, Fred immediately helped to change the team’s fortunes. In just his first game with the team, he put in an all-time performance against the Dallas Cowboys that not only helped defeat a nemesis but propelled the 49ers to our first Super Bowl Championship later that year.”
Dean was part of a fearsome 49ers defense that featured Ronnie Lott, Hacksaw Reynolds and Eric Wright, in addition to Hicks. The 1981 defense was second in the NFL in fewest points and yards allowed, while the 1984 team gave up the fewest points.
“So very sad to hear about the passing of @49ers great Fred Dean,” former 49ers defensive lineman Bryant Young tweeted. “My sincere condolences to the Dean family. May God provide you with strength in the coming days, months and years. Many are grateful to Fred for the legacy left behind. Salute my friend!”
Prior to becoming a second-round pick by the San Diego Chargers in 1975, Dean was a standout at Louisiana Tech, leading the Bulldogs to a 44-4 record from 1971 to 1974.
“Fred was a classmate of Kathy’s and mine, and we watched him every Saturday during Tech’s string of national championships in the early 1970s,” Louisiana Tech President Les Guice said in a statement. “It was great to see him rise from humble beginnings to become dominant as a pro, and then an NFL Hall of Famer. Fred remained loyal to Louisiana Tech and the Ruston Community. He will be greatly missed by the Tech Family.”
The 49ers, in the midst of an eight-year playoff drought, were 3-2 when Dean arrived from the Chargers.
Coach Bill Walsh envisioned using Dean on a part-time basis, believing he would be more effective in putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks on passing downs only.
Walsh also wanted Dean to use a standing start, which he felt would give him the freedom to move around and confuse offensive linemen and quarterbacks.
“I was used to playing every down,” Dean said in a 2008 interview with the Bay Area News Group after he was elected to the Hall of Fame.
“Coach Walsh told me I would play a limited role as a pass rusher. In other words, I would be the 12th man. I didn’t really want to go that route at first. But then I thought about what he was saying and it made a lot of sense. And I went on to try it out for myself, and I liked it.”
Dean played his first game with San Francisco on Oct. 11, 1981.