Dave Tollefson’s entire NFL career seemed like an upset, considering he was a lightly regarded prospect out of high school and cut by two NFL teams before arriving to the Giants in 2007. He ended up winning two Super Bowls as a popular and hard-working reserve defensive end. Tollefson did not play in 2013, and on Friday announced his retirement.
“The relationships,” Tollefson told giants.com, when asked what he will miss most. “You hear it all the time when guys retire, that they’re not going to miss the game, they’re going to miss the locker room. I know, for sure, I’m going to miss the locker room and those guys, but the great thing is the relationships I made playing with the Giants.
“I talk to those guys all the time. I talk to Osi [Umenyiora] and [Justin] Tuck weekly, [Michael] Strahan still, Eli [Manning]. You build relationships that I’ve built with the Giants, they become lifetime deals, you know?”
Tollefson’s timing was impeccable. Coming out of Division II Northwest Missouri State, the Packers selected him with the 253rd pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. But he was cut by the Packers and Raiders before the 2007 season then signed by the Giants off Oakland’s practice squad. Loaded at defensive end, Tollefson became a special teams contributor and gradually worked his way into the defensive line rotation based on his hard work and hustle.
He ended up playing five years for the Giants, winning the Super Bowl in his first and last seasons. He finished his seven-year career with 10.5 sacks, getting five sacks in 2011. He was with the Raiders in 2012 before sitting out last season.
“I’m sure that’s what the roots are to the relationships with those guys,” Tollefson said. “We went through those three seasons in between Super Bowls, and that made the second one a little sweeter. It means a lot to me. I wasn’t that accomplished in high school like a lot of guys, I lost the national championship in college. So to finally get that elusive ring at any level, for me personally, it meant quite a bit, nonetheless two. I’m one short. Megan is pregnant with our third boy, who is due in April. I might have to go coach and get another ring so the third one doesn’t feel left out.”
Tollefson, 31, says he grew to view coach Tom Coughlin as a father figure.
“I didn’t grow up with a dad, so I was lucky enough to have some men in my life that helped shaped me into the type of man that I am now,” Tollefson said. “To say that I was already grown up when coach Coughlin got a hold of me is not quite right. The relationship that he and I had meant a lot to me, because I felt he was always honest with you, which I really liked. I always felt like he was a father figure, and I really took to heart how he felt about the way I played football and the type of person I was.”
As a tribute to Coughlin, Tollefson says he has all the clocks and watches in his house in Omaha, Neb., set five minutes fast, just the way Coughlin likes them.
“I wanted to make sure Tom knew and the Maras and Tisches knew how much it meant to me,” Tollefson said. “They gave me the shot. If it wasn’t for what they did for me, who knows where I’d be now? I have three kids [including his third son, who is due in April] and a wife that I love. To be able to provide for them is something that I couldn’t even imagine in my wildest dreams as far as the way we live our lives. I’m indebted to coach and the Maras and the Tisches for doing that for me.”