CARDS: Topps 1982, Topps 1986, Pro Set 1991 ACQUIRED: TTM 2022, C/o Home SENT: 1/17/22 RECEIVED: 2/7/22 (21 days)
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
Jim Haslett played college football at Indiana University of Pennsylvania from 1975-’78.
Played LB, DE, and P for the Crimson Hawks.
Dominant player who etched his name in the school’s record books.
Over 4 years had 35 sacks, 412 tackles, and 13 fumble recoveries.
Selected in the 2nd round of the 1979 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills.
Jim hit the ground running and in his first contest notched a team leading 17 tackles.
In rookie year had 2 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries playing at LILB.
Alongside fellow Bills players Fred Smerlas and Shane Nelson, they formed the nucleus of the defense’s ‘Bermuda Traingle’ unit.
An aggressive player and big hitter, Jim recorded over 100 tackles 5 times in his career.
He’d play 7 seasons in Buffalo, starting 86 games posting 7.5 sacks, 11 fumble recoveries, and 6 interceptions.
In 1987 he came back for 3 games playing for the New York Jets before moving into the coaching ranks.
After three years working for Buffalo University both as a linebackers coach and defensive coordinator, Jim moved up to the spring football league circuit.
He parlayed his experience in the World League into a positional coaching job in the NFL with the Raiders as a linebackers coach in 1993.
After two years there, Jim spent a year with the Saints as their linebacker coach.
It’d be in 1996 that Haslett experienced his first taste of being a defensive coordinator with the Saints where he saw potent results.
He’d not be retained by the Saints after they cleaned house in ’97, so he spent the next 3 years as the DC of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Saints cleaned house again in 2000, and brought Haslett back to be head coach that year.
Jim led the Saints to their first playoff win that year.
He’d be fired after a tumultuous 2005 season, one in which the team cratered thanks in part to having to relocate temporarily from Hurricane Katrina to San Antonio.
Haslett then was defensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams from 2006-’08.
Jim replaced Scott Linehan as interim head coach in 2008.
In 2009, Haslett was head coach of the UFL ’09 Florida Tuskers.
From 2010 to ’14 Haslett served as defensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins.
After a consulting gig with Penn State in 2015, Jim served as linebackers coach of the Cincinnati Bengals from 2016-’18.
That’d lead to an inside linebacking coach gig with the Titans in 2020 and 2021.
He then served as head coach of the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL in 2023 finishing with a 7-3 record and a playoff berth.
Unfortunately after the league merged with the USFL, the Sea Dragons were not retained.
TAC
SAC
FUM
N/a
7.5
12
NFL
INT
YDS
AVG
TD
6
94
15.6
0
NFL
W
L
T
PCT
47
61
0
.435
NFL
W
L
T
PCT
7
3
0
.700
UFL
W
L
T
PCT
6
0
0
1.000
UFL 09
ACCOLADES:
NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year 1979
IUP Athletics Hall of Fame 1996
NFL Coach of the Year 2000
UFL09 Coach of the Year 2009
College Football Hall of Fame
NOTES:
Jim is one of the many members of the World League pipeline working his way up from the coaching ranks after his playing career ended.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
