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SAN FRANCISCO – Charles Haley knows exactly what it takes to win the Super Bowl; He should know, since he won it five times in his Hall of Fame career.
The San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys legend had the opportunity to hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the sixth time Tuesday, when the NFL tapped him to present it at the Super Bowl LX fan experience as part of its tribute to a former FedEx employee.
“He’s on my team now, he’s an All-Pro for me,” Haley told Pak Gazette Digital about Jesse Alvarado, a FedEx driver for 32 years.
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Charles Haley of the San Francisco 49ers looks on from the field during the game against the Atlanta Falcons at 3 Comm Park in San Francisco. (Tom Hauck/All Sports)
Haley saw similarities between Alvarado and the five championship teams he was on.
“Hard work, dedication and keeping that hunger,” Haley said. “It’s the players. When you talk about the team, you talk about the Cowboys, Jerry [Jones] He was selling the star, but the players are the stars. That’s what you have to understand. “It all comes down to the players: the way they come together, the way they practice, the way they sacrifice for each other, that will determine who will be here next year.”
Charles Haley addresses the crowd during halftime of the game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Minnesota Vikings at Levi Stadium on September 14, 2015, in Santa Clara, California. The 49ers defeated the Vikings 20-3. (Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)
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Haley’s five rings helped him earn an arrest in Canton a decade ago, but he had to wait his turn. He did not enter the Hall of Fame until his sixth ballot.
In some ways, both Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft will be waiting until at least next year. This led to calls for changes to the voting system, but Haley urged Belichick, Kraft and everyone else to simply be patient.
“I think it’s fair now. They changed the way it was, you have to earn it,” he said. “I was at number six before I came in. I’m not the one to ask about that. If you deserve to be there, you’ll get there.”
Charles Haley of the San Francisco 49ers in action during an NFL football game circa 1988 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Haley played for the 49ers from 1986 to 1991 and 1998 to 1999. (Focus on sport/Getty Images)
Haley retired with 100.5 sacks and two first-team All-Pro nods. Belichick and Kraft each have six Super Bowl titles with the New England Patriots, while Belichick has two more from his days as the New York Giants’ defensive coordinator.
