Robert Joseph Hallen (born March 9, 1975) is a 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 with ...

player. Hallen played high school football at

Mentor High School Mentor High School is a public high school located in Mentor, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Mentor Exempted Village School District (informally, "Mentor Schools"). At one time, it was the largest high school in Ohio ba ...

, where he was honorable mention all-state his senior season after serving as team captain. Hallen was a four-year starter at

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...

while starting 44 consecutive games. In the Spring of 1997, Hallen was awarded the Don Nottingham Cup as the team's top offensive player at the conclusion of Spring practice. He was a first-team All-

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

choice in 1997 after switching to right tackle after three seasons at center. Hallen also served as team captain during the senior year. Following his senior season, Hallen was chosen to play in the 1998 Senior Bowl in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

, marking the first time a Kent State player participated in this bowl game. Hallen was selected in the

1998 NFL Draft The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...

by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

in the second round (53rd overall) and went on to play in

Super Bowl XXXIII Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos (who were also defending their Super Bowl XXXII championship) and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Atla ...

. He played from 1998 to 2001 for the Falcons. He also played for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

from 2002 to 2005. He signed with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

prior to the

2006 NFL season The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League. Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006. The season began with the reigning Super Bowl XL champion Pittsburgh defeating the Miami in t ...

. Hallen's career came to an end on August 11, 2006 when he announced his retirement due to ongoing problems with his back, which he first injured in the 2001 season while playing for the Falcons. Hallen announced his retirement shortly after he was named the Browns' starting center in place of injured

LeCharles Bentley LeCharles Vernon Bentley (born November 7, 1979) is an American former college and professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. He played college football for Ohio State University, earned ...

. Hallen had left practice several days earlier complaining of back spasms. Hallen notified the Browns of his retirement in a letter. Hallen was inducted into Mentor High School's Sports Hall Of Fame in 2005 and the Kent State University's Varsity "K" Hall Of Fame in 2014. Hallen currently works for a fire department in the Greater Cleveland area.

References

1975 births Living people American football offensive guards Atlanta Falcons players Kent State Golden Flashes football players Kent State University alumni People from Mentor, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio San Diego Chargers players Sportspeople from Greater Cleveland Mentor High School alumni {{offensive-lineman-1970s-stub