Kansas City Chiefs: Looking back on Tamba Hali’s career
By Chris Taylor
Tamba Hali may be announcing his retirement from the NFL very soon. The Kansas City Chiefs linebacker has had a quiet career, but better than most.
The Kansas City Chiefs selected Tamba Hali with the 20th overall pick in 2006. The defensive end from Penn State was the 3rd ranked defensive end in that draft. Soon after being drafted he was given the nickname “Tambahawk”.
Tamba has been a role model for the ages during his time in the NFL. From his off the field charity work to his humbleness and on-field work ethic. One of the best traits Hali carried was his desire to win, and his desire for the Kansas City Chiefs to be better. He restructured his contract multiple times to free up cap space so the Chiefs could surround him with better talent.
Hali had a good rookie season for the Chiefs. He ended that season with 8 sacks, 41 tackles, an interception, and 5 forced fumbles. In 2007 Tamba had 46 tackles and 7.5 sacks with two forced fumbles.
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Between 2008 and 2009 Hali totaled 89 tackles, 11.5 sacks, and 7 forced fumbles. If you notice a trend, it’s for a reason. Hali has been one of the most productive and consistent defenders in the NFL during his career.
That 2009 season was big for Hali. In college he played defensive tackle for Penn State, he went back and forth from left end to right end during his first three seasons. In 2009 the transition to ROLB happened without a hitch.
In 2010 the Chiefs had themselves a new defensive coordinator in Romeo Crennel. Hali’s tackle numbers dropped, but his sack numbers soared. He led the AFC in sacks with 14.5. He also totaled 4 forced fumbles and 2 recoveries.
In 2011, under a new contract, the results stayed the same. He finished second in the league with 12 sacks and grabbed 48 tackles and another 4 forced fumbles. 2012 saw Hali suspended one game for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He still had a good season with 9 sacks and 43 tackles.
2013 was probably the most fun season Tamba had during his career. He had 11 sacks, 39 tackles, and 5 forced fumbles. The fun part was scoring two defensive touchdowns, one by interception, and one by a fumble recovery.
Tamba Hali had five more sacks than James Harrison in three less years. #overrated
— Sports Goose (@SportsGoose) April 16, 2018
2014 was the season many started talking about his age. Although he had 47 tackles, his pass rush diminished quite a bit, only grabbing six sacks. In 2015 Tamba missed his first game due to injury. He still collected 6.5 sacks and 39 tackles.
In 2016 he only started two games while playing a full slate. He had 24 tackles and 3 sacks. It was the first season he didn’t have a forced fumble.
The five-time Pro-Bowler only suited up for five games last season, and only collected a single tackle on the year. On March 12th of this year, he was released. He finishes his career with 89.5 sacks, behind only Derrick Thomas.
No matter what is in Tamba’s future, we have all witnessed a darn fine football player the last 12 years. His numbers may have been overshadowed by many, but numbers don’t lie, he was one of the finest OLB’s in the league during his time.
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You will be missed Mr. Hali. Keep jamming out. Tamba Juice.
*Note: All statistics credited to pro-football-reference.com