Legendary Vikings defensive linemen welcome Jared Allen into Ring of Honor

Call if Pi Kappa Sack or Tackle Kappa Epsilon. Whatever it might be, Carl Eller says the defensive linemen in the Vikings Ring of Honor are like a fraternity.

A new member will be pledged Sunday when former star defensive end Jared Allen joins the franchise’s Ring of Honor at halftime of the game against the Arizona Cardinals at U.S. Bank Stadium. He will become the seventh defensive linemen out of the 27 members in the Ring of Honor, by far the most of any position group.

“This is a tradition,” Eller, a former defensive end, said of the Vikings’ many great defensive linemen throughout the franchise’s history. “I think it’s very good. I think it’s something that we cherish.”

Defensive linemen in the Ring of Honor include Eller, Alan Page and Jim Marshall, all members of the legendary Purple People Eaters line of the 1960s and 1970s; the late Chris Doleman and John Randle, who were teammates in the 1990s; and Kevin Williams and Allen, who were teammates before both left Minnesota after the 2013 season. Eller, Page, Doleman and Randle are all in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“It’s one of the things that we always appreciate about the history of the Minnesota Vikings organization is that we always have had a knack of finding great defensive linemen, and by putting Jared in (the Ring of Honor), I think there’s no doubt about it that he is carrying on the tradition,” said Randle, who played defensive tackle.

Page, a defensive tackle who was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1971, agreed. After all, there are nearly twice as many defensive linemen in the Ring of Honor as the second-most represented position group. There are four offensive linemen.

“What it says is that over the years the defensive linemen that the team has had have been exceptional,” Page said.

Allen’s selection marks the second straight year a defensive lineman will be inducted. Williams, a Minnesota defensive tackle from 2003-13, was enshrined last year.

Williams was Allen’s teammate throughout his 2008-13 Vikings tenure. The two became very close and have continued to stay in touch after both left Minnesota.

“I was excited last year (being inducted), but I’m just as excited for Jared this year,” Williams said. “He was my teammate, my friend and my brother that I played with for six years. I’m honored that he’ll be honored alongside me.”

Williams, Randle and Eller are planning to be on hand Sunday for Allen’s induction speech. Williams, Randle and Page are planning to attend a Saturday night ceremony in which Allen is presented with his purple jacket.

“It’s about honoring someone who was an exceptional player,” Page said.

Page attended a Vikings’ practice on July 30 at the TCO Performance Center, and congratulated Allen on being named the day before to the Ring of Honor. Allen, who was then in the Twin Cities for a Salvation Army event, had been invited by head coach Kevin O’Connell to speak to the team at a practice at U.S. Bank Stadium, and the Vikings surprised him with the news of his impending induction.

At a July 30 news conference, Allen called it “very humbling” being selected for the Ring of Honor. He declined, through a publicist, to be interviewed for this article.

Allen played in the NFL from 2004-15, which also included a 2004-07 stint with the Kansas City Chiefs and playing for the Chicago Bears in 2014 and for both the Bears and the Carolina Panthers in 2015. He earned three of his four career All-Pro nods and made four of his five Pro Bowls with Minnesota.

Allen is 12th on the NFL’s all-time sack list with 136, including 88½ with Minnesota. He holds the Vikings’ single-season record with 22 sacks in 2011, a figure tied for fourth-best in NFL history.

“His motor, man,” Williams said of what made Allen so good. “He worked hard, so when the games came, you saw the results of that. He was paid to rush the passer, and he got out there and did it a high level for a long time, and now he’s getting to see the results of all that hard work.”

Sacks didn’t become an official NFL statistic until 1982. Eller holds the team’s unofficial record with 130 sacks while fellow defensive end Marshall is just behind with 127. The official team record belongs to Randle, who had 114 of his 137½ career sacks with the Vikings. But none of those players came close to Allen’s average of 14.3 sacks per season during his Vikings years.

“(Allen) was really good at getting to the quarterback,” Eller said. “He wasn’t a big guy, so he couldn’t overpower guys. He would just maneuver and get by the offensive guys and make a sack. He had his own style and then he had his little dance, his little routine after he made a sack.”

Allen grew up on a horse ranch in California and did some calf roping. So he incorporated that into a dance in which he pretended to rope a calf, and highlights of his sack celebrations became staples on YouTube.

“He’s a great addition to the Ring of Honor,” Randle said. “I look forward to being there just to welcome him him into the Ring of Honor and to put my hand out and shake his hand. I’ll thank him for carrying on the tradition of the Minnesota Vikings defensive line. It’s like a brotherhood.”

Or, as Eller said, like a fraternity.

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