Getting inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame is one of the greatest honors for any player. It recognizes that they were among the best of the best. This year’s class was recently inducted, and while it didn’t include any Pittsburgh Steelers, their current defensive line coach, Karl Dunbar, received a shout-out from Jared Allen during his induction speech.
“My position coaches, like the late, great Bob Karmelowicz. Bob was a master of technique,” Allen said Saturday via the NFL’s YouTube channel. “We would spend countless hours talking about big bones on little bones and how to manipulate an offensive tackle to get where you want to get to gain fractions of a second in the rush.
“To Tim Krumrie, who would, no joke, wrestle a toddler if he had to, just because that’s what Timmy did. And of course, the Beastmaster himself, Karl Dunbar. You guys held me to a standard of greatness every single day, and I cannot say thank you enough because you got me to where I’m at.”
Allen and Dunbar were together with the Minnesota Vikings from 2008-2011. Dunbar was the Vikings’ defensive line coach, and he helped Allen produce some of his best NFL seasons. That included a 22-sack season in 2011. Allen even still argues that he should’ve had 23 sacks that year.
While Allen had already established himself before getting to Dunbar and the Vikings, it’s unquestionable that his stint there helped solidify his Hall of Fame case. During his time with Dunbar, Allen accumulated 62 total sacks, 74 tackles-for-loss, and 13 forced fumbles.
Dunbar was even in attendance in Canton, Ohio for Allen’s speech. While the Steelers had practice, it seems that they allowed Dunbar to skip the day for the special occasion.
That also goes to show how long Dunbar has been coaching in the NFL. Hopefully, this isn’t the last time that he’s honored in a Hall of Fame speech as well. One day, Cam Heyward should make a compelling case to be inducted into Canton. He and Dunbar have been together since 2018, with many of Heyward’s best years coming since then.
Like with Allen, Dunbar helped Heyward break through, making a case to be immortalized in the Hall of Fame. This year, the two of them will try to help the Steelers win a Super Bowl. That would be a nice cherry on top of both of their long and successful careers.
