Hall of Fame pass rusher Jared Allen was an elite prankster for the Vikings too

Jared Allen’s 6-6, 270-pound body and all its many physical attributes were as plain to see and enjoy as the calf-roping sack celebrations the former Vikings edge rusher performed during a 12-year career. It’s one that has landed him in Canton, Ohio, for Saturday’s enshrinement as one of four members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025.

But former Vikings coach Brad Childress says Allen’s worth to any team he played went much deeper than the tangibles he brought to the table.

Childress remembers one October when he felt his team was “a little tight.” Someone needed to break the tension, he thought. Naturally, Allen did something that made everyone crack up.

“We’re in a team meeting and in walks Jared in what looked like a boys medium wrestling singlet,” Childress says.

“It was Halloween,” Allen said. “I was dressed as A.C. Slater” from ”Saved by the Bell.”

“When I looked up, what else can you do but laugh?” Childress said. “I don’t think you should underestimate what Jared’s enthusiasm and ability to bring levity to a situation did for a team that had the likes of Kevin and Pat Williams.

“If we were tight, it was good to have Jared. You’d just start smiling because he was a funny, good-natured, hard-working guy.”

“We told Jared rushing the passer is great and all, but around here, you also need to sink your butt and play the run,” Kevin Williams said. “And he did.”

Allen was on five top-10 run defenses. The Vikings were second in 2008 and first in 2009 when they reached the NFC Championship Game.

Allen had 648 tackles in 12 years. That’s 298 more than fellow Hall of Fame edge rusher Dwight Freeney — a 2024 enshrinee — had in 16 seasons.

Former Vikings defensive coordinator and head coach Leslie Frazier also pitched Allen’s well-rounded game to the Hall’s selection committee, saying that is what set him apart from other great edge rushers, including Richard Dent, whom Frazier played alongside on the 1985 Bears.

Frazier also experienced some Allen hijinks along the way. He was head coach the one summer day in Mankato when a reporter asked him whether NFL players still partake in rookie hazing. No, Frazier said before explaining the NFL’s kinder, gentler ways at the time.

“Leslie wasn’t happy,” remembered Allen, who threw his arm around his head coach at the time. “But the kid had a choice. Sing his fight song. He wouldn’t sing it. I told Leslie, ‘Don’t worry, the kid will be fine.’