This is not the kind of news that you want to wake up to.

Chris Doleman passed away at the age of 58 after a battle with glioblastoma.  

Doleman played his college ball at the University of Pittsburgh, and the Defensive End would be chosen fourth overall in the 1985 Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.  He would to his first Pro Bowl 1987, and would lead the NFL in Forced Fumbles with six.  Doleman was a Pro Bowler in the next three seasons, the best of which being the 1989 season where he was a First Team All-Pro and would finish atop the Quarterback Sacks list with 21.0.  He played for the Vikings three more seasons, and would earn two more Pro Bowls and in 1993 would be chosen for his second First Team All-Pro.

Next up, was Atlanta, where Doleman played two seasons, and then three with San Francisco.  In both teams, he would secure one Pro Bowl season.  He returned to the Vikings for one final season in 1999.

Doleman would be elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012, and he is a member of the 1990s All-Decade Team.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our congratulates to both Martinez and Ivanisevic.

Few defensive ends arrived in Minnesota with higher expectations than Chris Doleman. Selected fourth overall in the 1985 draft out of Pittsburgh, he spent his first two seasons adjusting to the NFL. The Vikings initially used him at outside linebacker before shifting him to defensive end late in his second year. Once he settled into that role as a full-time starter in 1987, the production followed immediately. He posted 11 sacks that season, earned his first Pro Bowl selection, and began a stretch in which he became one of the league’s most consistent pass rushers.

The peak arrived in 1989 when Doleman led the NFL with 21 sacks. That total earned him first-team All-Pro honors and remains one of the highest single-season marks in Vikings history. He followed with another strong year in 1990 and then a second first-team All-Pro season in 1992, when he added 14.5 sacks, forced six fumbles, and returned an interception for a touchdown. Those years lined up with some of the Vikings’ better defensive stretches of the era, and Doleman was the constant threat off the edge.

He played with power and a long first step that made it difficult for tackles to stay in front of him. His combination of size and speed let him set the edge against the run while still generating consistent pressure on the quarterback. From 1987 through 1993, he remained a starter and earned six Pro Bowl selections while in Minnesota. The production stayed high even as the team cycled through different schemes and supporting casts.

After the 1993 season, the Vikings traded Doleman to the Atlanta Falcons. He spent two years there, then three more with the San Francisco 49ers, where he continued to produce double-digit sacks. In 1999, he returned to Minnesota for one final season and added eight more sacks before retiring. With the Vikings, he finished with 96.5 sacks across his two stints. Those totals, paired with the All-Pro and Pro Bowl recognition, placed him among the franchise’s strongest defensive ends.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted him in 2012. Five years earlier, the Vikings placed him in their Ring of Honor.