Robert Joseph Hallen (born March 9, 1975) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was an

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...

and center in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Hallen played high school football at Mentor High School, where he was honorable mention all-state his senior season after serving as team captain. Hallen was a four-year starter playing

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Kent State Golden Flashes The Kent State Golden Flashes are the athletic teams that represent Kent State University. The university fields 19 varsity athletic teams in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division I, Division I level with footba ...

, starting 44 consecutive games. In the spring of 1997, Hallen was awarded the Don Nottingham Cup as the team's top offensive player at the conclusion of Spring practice. He was a first-team All-

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

choice in 1997 after switching to right tackle after three seasons at center. Hallen also served as team captain during the senior year. Following his senior season, Hallen was chosen to play in the 1998 Senior Bowl in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, marking the first time a Kent State player participated in this bowl game. Hallen was selected in the

1998 NFL draft The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...

by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

in the second round (53rd overall) and went on to play in

Super Bowl XXXIII Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XXXII champion 1998 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion ...

. He played from 1998 to 2001 for the Falcons. He also played for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

from 2002 to 2005. He signed with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

prior to the

2006 NFL season The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006. The season began with the reigning Super Bowl XL champion Pittsburgh Steelers defeati ...

. Hallen's career came to an end on August 11, 2006, when he announced his retirement due to ongoing problems with his back, which he first injured in the 2001 season while playing for the Falcons. Hallen announced his retirement shortly after he was named the Browns' starting center in place of injured

LeCharles Bentley LeCharles Vernon Bentley (born November 7, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a guard and center in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, earn ...

. Hallen had left practice several days earlier complaining of back spasms. Hallen notified the Browns of his retirement in a letter. Hallen was inducted into Mentor High School's Sports Hall Of Fame in 2005 and the Kent State University's Varsity "K" Hall Of Fame in 2014. Hallen currently works for a fire department in the Greater Cleveland area.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hallen, Bob 1975 births Living people American football offensive guards Atlanta Falcons players Kent State Golden Flashes football players Kent State University alumni Sportspeople from Mentor, Ohio Players of American football from Lake County, Ohio San Diego Chargers players Mentor High School alumni New England Patriots players Cleveland Browns players