Former Arizona Cardinals Guard Alan Faneca elected to HOF

He made his mark in the NFL primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers, starting 1998.  Offensive guard Alan Faneca played his first 10 seasons with the team before going to the New York Jets in 2008 and 2009, then finished his career with the Arizona Cardinals in 2010.

On Saturday night, he was elected to the 2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class.  He will be inducted in August along with the rest of the 2021 class in addition to the 2020 class that had its ceremony postponed due to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Faneca came to Arizona because of his relationship with then head coach Ken Whisenhunt and offensive line coach Russ Grimm.  He decided to retire several months after the 2010 season ended.

He was a 9-time Pro Bowler and a 6-time First-team All Pro.  He was also named to the NFL’s 2000’s All Decade Team and named to the Steelers All-Time Team.

He had been a finalist in recent years for the Hall of Fame but each year had fallen just short.  It was only a matter of time before Faneca saw his due recognition.

Faneca started all 16 games for the Cardinals in 2010, a year that saw the Cardinals fail to reach the playoffs for a third-consecutive season. However Faneca did earn a Super Bowl ring with the Steelers.

He only missed 2 games over the course his career.  He started 201 of the 206 games he played in. You only do that for two reasons.  One you have durability and stay healthy, and the other is you are darn good.

His election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday evening validates both of those reasons. He was also a great college football player at LSU.

He was a 2-time First-team SEC player before being drafted in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft.  We congratulate him on this top honor and continue to wish him well in his post-retirement years.