Kimo von Oelhoffen

Kimo von Oelhoffen
Von Oelhoffen with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2007
No. 67, 66
PositionsDefensive tackle, defensive end
Personal information
Born (1971-01-30) January 30, 1971
Kaunakakai, Hawaii, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight299 lb (136 kg)
Career information
High schoolMolokaʻi (Hoʻolehua, Hawaii)
College
NFL draft1994: 6th round, 162nd overall pick
Career history
Awards and highlights
Career NFL statistics
Tackles356
Sacks26.5
Forced fumbles4
Fumble recoveries7
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Kimo K. von Oelhoffen (/ˈkiːmoʊ vənˈoʊlhɒfɪn/; born January 30, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Boise State Broncos before being selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 1994 NFL draft.

He also played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, and Philadelphia Eagles. He won the Vince Lombardi Trophy with the Steelers in Super Bowl XL against the Seattle Seahawks.

College career

Von Oelhoffen graduated from Molokaʻi High School which did not have a football team. He played one season of high school football at Moanalua High School, which is located on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, in 1985.

Von Oelhoffen started playing at the University of Hawaiʻi, transferring to Walla Walla Community College the next year and finally settling at Boise State University. He suffered a number of injuries in college that slowed his development including a stress fracture in his foot in 1992 and a sprained ankle in 1993.[1]

Professional career

Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals selected von Oelhoffen with the first pick of the sixth round of the 1994 NFL draft.[2] In his first three seasons, he was largely a reserve, moving into the starting lineup in 1997. The next season, von Oelhoffen became a mainstay of the defensive line, starting every game and finishing second in tackles among defensive linemen.

Pittsburgh Steelers

After a strong 1999 season, where he recorded 24 tackles and four sacks, he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an unrestricted free agent on a four-year $11 million contract.[3] Pittsburgh initially inserted him as the starting nose tackle and converted him to defensive end. Von Oelhoffen would start all but one game from the 2000–2005 seasons. He won a Super Bowl ring in 2005 in his final season as a Steeler.[4]

Carson Palmer's injury

During the 2005 Wildcard Playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals, his former team, von Oelhoffen was involved in a controversial hit on Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer that occurred on the Bengals' second play from scrimmage and knocked Palmer out of the game with a severe knee injury. Von Oelhoffen, coming off a block set by guard Eric Steinbach, rolled into Palmer's left knee after Palmer released a pass 66 yards down field to wide receiver Chris Henry, who was also injured on the play.[5] The injury to Palmer was severe, including damage to his anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament, and posterior cruciate ligament. MRIs later determined that Palmer's ACL, PCL, and MCL were all torn as a result of the hit. Cincinnati fans booed von Oelhoffen after watching the replays on the Jumbotron, thinking that a flag should have been thrown for a late hit or roughing the passer. However, no flag was thrown because the hit was deemed legal at the time.

Von Oelhoffen later apologized publicly for the hit rather than contact Palmer directly about the incident. Though Palmer confirmed that von Oelhoffen never contacted him personally to apologize, Palmer stated that the injury was "just part of the game."[6][7]

During the off-season, the NFL Rules Committee modified the rule regarding low hits on quarterbacks. The so-called "Kimo Clause" now requires that defenders take every opportunity to avoid hitting a quarterback at or below the knees when the quarterback is in a defenseless position looking to throw with both feet on the ground.[7]

New York Jets

For the 2006 season, von Oelhoffen signed with the New York Jets on a three-year $9.2 million deal. He spent one season with the Jets, viewed somewhat as a disappointment given his $3.2 million signing bonus.[8]

Philadelphia Eagles

After being released by the Jets in training camp, von Oelhoffen signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. He would appear in eight games for them during that season. He was later released by the team. He has since retired from professional football.

NFL career statistics

Legend
Won the Super Bowl
Bold Career high

Regular season

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GPGSCombSoloAstSckIntYdsTDLngFFFRYdsTD
1994CIN 602200.000000000
1995CIN 1618710.000000000
1996CIN 111151141.000000000
1997CIN 13134232100.000000000
1998CIN 1616453690.000000000
1999CIN 165252414.000001100
2000PIT 16164429151.000001000
2001PIT 1515282084.000000200
2002PIT 16162212103.000000100
2003PIT 1616352788.000001100
2004PIT 1615241681.0000002210
2005PIT 16163623133.500001000
2006NYJ 16162817111.000000000
2007PHI 812110.000000000
1971473562579926.5000047210

Playoffs

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GPGSCombSoloAstSckIntYdsTDLngFFFRYdsTD
2001PIT 224400.000000000
2002PIT 224311.000000000
2004PIT 224310.000000000
2005PIT 445501.000000000
2006NYJ 101010.000000000
1110181532.000000000

Personal life

His daughter, Talia von Oelhoffen, plays for the USC Trojans women's basketball team.

References

  1. ↑ "Dave Reardon and B.J. Reyes, Kimo von Steeler, Star Billetin, 2/1/06". Archived from the original on November 22, 2007. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
  2. ↑ "1994 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Pat Bigold, Steelers made Von Oelhoffen an offer he couldn't refuse, Star Bulletin, 2/15/00". Archived from the original on February 28, 2006. Retrieved January 9, 2006.
  4. ↑ Pittsburgh Steelers Player Page, steelers.com, Accessed on 9/2/07 Archived September 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ Leonard Shapiro, The Steelers Carry On, Washington Post, 1/9/06
  6. ↑ "Von Oelhoffen offers apology after Palmer's injury". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 9, 2006. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  7. 1 2 Graham Bensinger, Palmer has lofty expectations for 2006, ESPN.com Weekly Conversation, 1/15/06
  8. ↑ "Dave hitchinson, Wadsworth Likely a Cut, Star Ledger, 9/1/07". Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
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