Although he is no longer the Pittsburgh Steelers’ all-time sack leader, LB Jason Gildon is still an all-time great. Today, Gildon was inducted into the Steelers Hall of Honor, joining many greats like the man he passed to become the temporary all-time sacks leader L.C. Greenwood, and one of the men who passed him, James Harrison.
Gildon finished his Steelers career with 77 sacks, passing Greenwood to become Pittsburgh’s then all-time sacks leader in his last year in the Black and Gold in 2003. According to the Steelers’ media guide, Greenwood finished his career with 73.5 sacks meaning Gildon surpassed Greenwood with his first sack in a three-sack performance against the Arizona Cardinals in a Steelers 28-15 win.
Gildon was on stage with Bob Labriola and Bob Pompeani today and was asked what went through his mind when he passed Greenwood.
“That year I was thinking if everything went right, I could break the record, but I didn’t want to dwell on it and I didn’t want to make it something that was in my mind every game,” Gildon said via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “So when I got the sack, I really didn’t get too excited about it. I was thinking, ‘I don’t want to show too much emotion now just in case we don’t win this game.’ And so I was happy that it happened, but I didn’t really want to get too high at that moment.”
Entering that game against the Cardinals Gildon had 73 sacks. He ended it with 76, capping a truly dominant display that brought back memories of old. As Gildon said, he did not show to much emotion, but from the clip of the sack above it certainly seems like linebacker and fellow Hall of Honor member James Farrior knew about the significance of that sack.
Gildon was a force for the Steelers in his 10 years wearing the Black and Gold. While he may be overlooked by many due to him playing with greats like Kevin Greene, Greg Lloyd, and Joey Porter, Gildon was right there with them and certainly made his impact.
Eventually players such as James Harrison, Cameron Heyward, and T.J. Watt passed Gildon in the record books, but Gildon’s record stood for 13 years. Gildon is finally getting this due in Pittsburgh for the impact he had. Despite owning the Steelers sack record for more than a decade, Gildon does not get talked about like Porter, Lloyd, Greene, or even LaMarr Woodley.
On Dec. 8, 2024, Gildon will be honored at Acrisure Stadium with the rest of the 2024 Hall of Honor class when the Steelers take on the Cleveland Browns. What makes this almost perfect is that Gildon’s last sack as a Steeler came against the Browns.
