UCLA football player Roman Phifer toiled in the NFL for 10 years without a Super Bowl. He played eight years for the Los Angeles and St. Louis Rams in the 1990s but left just before the Rams became Super Bowl champions in the 1999 season. He played two years for the New York Jets. Then the New England Patriots signed him to a veteran minimum deal before 2001. Everything changed for the Bruin linebacker.
Roman Phifer might not have been a superstar, but he was a leader in the Patriots’ locker room in that 2001 season, a veteran voice who helped knit the team together. Under head coach Bill Belichick, who is famous for getting his players to stay on task and be detail-oriented, Phifer was an extension of the Patriots’ coaching staff. He helped create the discipline and the culture which enabled the 2001 Patriots to make and win the Super Bowl and begin their dynasty. Notably, those Patriots beat Phifer’s former team, the Rams, to win Super Bowl XXXVI.
Roman Phifer was a central contributor to the Patriots’ 2003 Super Bowl championship team. That New England squad beat the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII. Phifer was slowed down by injuries in the 2004 season, but he collected a third Super Bowl ring when the Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX.
Roman Phifer had to wait a long time to win a Super Bowl, but he finally did reach the NFL pinnacle. Once he reached that height, he stayed there for a few more seasons. The UCLA Bruin won three rings, a fitting conclusion — and completion — to a rich and successful NFL journey.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA’s Roman Phifer was part of Patriots’ first dynastic run in 2000s
Reporting by Matt Zemek, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
