Dan Klecko (born January 12, 1981) 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 a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

and fullback 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). He was selected by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL draft. He played

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

Temple Owls The Temple Owls are the college athletics, athletic teams that represent Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The current athletic director is Arthur Johnson (athletic director), Arthur Johnson. The owl has been the symbol and masco ...

. Klecko was also a member of the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

and

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 ...

. He has earned three Super Bowl rings in his career - two with the Patriots and one with the Colts. He is the son of former

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

and Hall of Fame defensive lineman Joe Klecko.

Professional career

New England Patriots

He was selected by the

in the fourth round (117th pick overall) in the 2003 NFL draft. Klecko was a versatile player; he attended Saint Patrick School in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Great Valley High School, graduated from Marlboro High School, and then

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

as a

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

, but was moved to

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

in the summer of 2004. He also saw time on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

, and in his rookie season was a blocking fullback on five of the Patriots' nine running touchdowns. Klecko was cut by the Patriots after the 2006 preseason.

Indianapolis Colts

Shortly after his release from New England, Klecko signed with the

. With the Colts, he occasionally filled in for the injured James Mungro as fullback during the 2006 season. Klecko scored his first career

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

on a 2nd and goal four-yard pass from

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the In ...

against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

on December 31, 2006. He also caught a touchdown against the

, his former team, to tie the game in the 3rd quarter of the 2006

AFC Championship game The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal NFL playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football lea ...

. The Colts went on to win that game. They advanced and won

Super Bowl XLI Super Bowl XLI was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2006 Indianapolis Colts season, Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2006 Chicago Bears season, Chicag ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Klecko was declared an unrestricted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on March 2, 2007, but on March 24, 2007, he re-signed with the Colts, agreeing to a one-year contract. On November 17, 2007, Klecko was waived by the Colts. He was re-signed three days later.

Philadelphia Eagles

On March 14, 2008, Klecko was signed by his hometown

, who intended to convert him back to fullback. He was brought in to compete with the incumbent Jason Davis. After the Eagles traded for former teammate Luke Lawton, Klecko was moved back to defensive tackle position. He registered a sack against the St. Louis Rams in his first game for the Eagles. On October 8, 2008, it was announced that Klecko would be moved back to fullback. He switched jersey numbers from No. 68 to No. 49. In the 2009 preseason, the Eagles moved Klecko to defensive tackle and switched his jersey number back to No. 68. He was released from the Eagles on September 5, 2009.

Atlanta Falcons

Klecko signed a reserve/future contract with the

on January 11, 2010. He was waived on September 3.

Personal life

He is the son of

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

r, Joe Klecko, best known as a member of the

' "

New York Sack Exchange The New York Sack Exchange were the front four defensive line of the American football team New York Jets of the National Football League during the early 1980s. The line consisted of Mark Gastineau, Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons and Abdul Salaam (Amer ...

" of the early 1980s where he featured alongside Mark Gastineau, Marty Lyons, and Abdul Salaam.

References

External links

Indianapolis Colts bioNew England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klecko, Dan 1981 births Living people Marlboro High School alumni Sportspeople from Marlboro Township, New Jersey American football defensive tackles American football defensive ends American football linebackers American football fullbacks Temple Owls football players New England Patriots players Indianapolis Colts players Philadelphia Eagles players Atlanta Falcons players Players of American football from Chester, Pennsylvania