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Auburn football lost a legend today as former All-SEC linebacker Mike Kolen passed away. He was 76 years old.
Nicknamed “Captain Crunch” by the Auburn faithful, Kolen played in 25 games for the Tigers between 1967 and 1969, earning All-SEC honors in his junior and senior years while playing for the late-great Ralph Jordan.
Kolen was a 1985 Alabama Sports Hall of Fame inductee and for many years would hand out the Mike Kolen Trophy to the Auburn player who led the team in tackles in a given year.
Success in college followed Kolen to the NFL, where he played for Don Shula from 1970 to 1977 and went on to win two Super Bowls. He even has a place in NFL lore for his role in the iconic “Sea of Hands Game” in the 1974 playoffs against the Raiders, where he attempted to swat a Ken Stabler pass out of the endzone as time expired, only for Clarence Davis to come down with the catch for the game-winning touchdown that ended the Dolphins’ dreams of a three-peat.
Former Auburn athletics director David Housel released a statement, calling Kolen one of the finest men he’s ever known and someone who “was a great football player but a better man”
“Mike Kolen is one of the finest men I’ve ever known,” said former Auburn athletics director and sports information director David Housel. “Being a football player was secondary to Mike Kolen. He’s one of the greatest football players Auburn ever had, but he was much more. A rock, a beacon.”When I think of Mike Kolen, I think of toughness, competitiveness, and a quality of goodness. He was a great football player but he was a better man.”
Auburn football fans waking up this morning have been sending their condolences and fondly recalling his presence at the school.
“So sorry to hear this news. On the field he was a great player and a hero to many. Off the field he was truly a nice guy. Years ago he came in to the store where I worked and was so kind to us,” one user wrote on X.
“Sorry to hear the news. He was one of the best to ever play the position at AUBURN,” wrote another.
“A sad day for the Auburn family! RIP Captain Crunch,” a third declared.
Our hearts go out to Kolen’s family and loved ones.