The 1992 Dallas Cowboys entered training camp with Super Bowl aspirations, but truth be told, only the offense was capable of taking home a Lombardi Trophy. The previous season's defense ranked third to last in sacks with 23, while finishing 17th out of the 28 teams in points allowed per game at 19.4.
Enter Haley, who was a season removed from first-team All-Pro honors at defensive end and was already a three-time Super Bowl winner with the 49ers. He also brought attitude, which was the reason San Francisco came calling with a trade offer that, simply put, would alter the course of NFL history.
The absurdity of dealing a Hall of Fame pass rusher in the prime of his career for second- and third-round picks is perhaps unmatched in league annals. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was so exuberant at completing the trade on the cusp of the 1992 regular season that he picked Haley up at the airport, telling him, "We will be Super Bowl champions. Not down the road; we start today. You're the final piece. Just be Charles Haley."
Charles was most certainly Charles, on and off the field. Most importantly, though, offenses were forced to readjust game plans and blocking schemes, always having to account for one of the elite pass rushers of his generation. In his first season in Dallas, the defense allowed the fewest yards in the league, 245.7, and nearly doubled its sack total, 44, on its way to winning the team's first title in 15 years.
Haley only played in 63 games over five seasons for the Cowboys but his presence and leadership were so instrumental to winning three Super Bowls that Jones inducted him into the Ring of Honor in 2011. The second-fewest games played by a Ring member is Don Meredith with 104.
Despite battling multiple back injuries, Haley also enjoyed a pair of Pro Bowl seasons with Dallas, in 1994-95, registering double-digit sacks in each, while also earning a first-team All-Pro nod in 1994. He added another 3.5 sacks and an interception in the postseason and became the first player in NFL history to win five championship rings, leading to his enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.