Raymond Daniel Saleaumua (born November 25, 1964) is a

Samoan American Samoan Americans are Americans of Samoan origin, including those who emigrated from the Independent State of Samoa or American Samoa to the United States. Samoan Americans are Pacific Islanders in the United States Census, and are the second l ...

former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. He played professionally for the Detroit Lions, the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

and the Seattle Seahawks.

Early life

Saleaumua was born in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

. He attended high school at Sweetwater High and attended college at

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

. He played

Nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...

, defensive tackle, and

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

throughout his college and pro career.

Professional career

Saleaumua played in the NFL for twelve seasons. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 7th round (175th overall) of the 1987 NFL Draft. He played for the Detroit Lions for two years, 1987 and 1988. He then played for the

from 1989 to 1996, and finally the Seattle Seahawks in 1997 and 1998. He played in the Pro Bowl in 1995. His fumble recovery record for the Kansas City Chiefs (17) still stands. He graduated from Arizona State in 1997.

Life after the NFL

Saleaumua was the volunteer defensive line coach in 2000 and 2001 for Desert Vista High School in Phoenix, Arizona. In January 2011, he led his team to a commanding 21-8 victory as head coach in the Polynesian All American Classic Bowl game in Los Angeles. Saleaumua lives in Phoenix, Arizona and Kansas City, Missouri. He has been an entrepreneur and business owner since his NFL career. He is the father of two grown sons. In January 2019 Dan Saleaumua was inducted into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Saleaumua's sister is married to his former Chiefs teammate,

Tim Grunhard Timothy Gerard Grunhard (born May 17, 1968) is an American football coach and former center. A second-round draft choice in the 1990 NFL Draft for the Kansas City Chiefs, Grunhard went on to play 169 games with Kansas City, the fourth most ever b ...

Career statistics

Punts and kickoffs:

References

External links

Dan Saleaumua’s Take a Swing at Cancer

NFL.com profile: Dan Saleaumua

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saleaumua, Dan 1964 births Living people American football defensive tackles American Conference Pro Bowl players Detroit Lions players Kansas City Chiefs players Seattle Seahawks players Arizona State Sun Devils football players People from National City, California American sportspeople of Samoan descent Players of American football from San Diego