{"id":84844,"date":"2022-10-02T17:05:56","date_gmt":"2022-10-02T17:05:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/former-new-york-jets-stalwart-offensive-linemen-marvin-powell-jim-sweeney-die\/"},"modified":"2022-10-02T17:05:56","modified_gmt":"2022-10-02T17:05:56","slug":"former-new-york-jets-stalwart-offensive-linemen-marvin-powell-jim-sweeney-die","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/former-new-york-jets-stalwart-offensive-linemen-marvin-powell-jim-sweeney-die\/","title":{"rendered":"Former New York Jets stalwart offensive linemen Marvin Powell, Jim Sweeney die"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Former New York Jets players Marvin Powell and Jim Sweeney, stalwart offensive linemen in the 1970s and 1980s, died Friday and Saturday, respectively, the team announced Sunday.<\/p>\n

Powell died of heart failure, according to his son, Marvin Powell III. Sweeney’s cause of death wasn’t immediately released.<\/p>\n

Powell, who was 67, was a first-round pick in 1977 and a three-time All-Pro who played with the Jets through 1985. He played the final two years of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.<\/p>\n

Sweeney, who was 60, was a second-round pick in 1984 and started 158 consecutive games for the Jets, mostly at center. He was the Jets’ full-time center from 1988 to 1994 then finished his career with the Seattle Seahawks (1995) and Pittsburgh Steelers (1996-99). He grew up in Pittsburgh and attended Pitt, where he was Dan Marino’s center.<\/p>\n

“Our entire Jets family is saddened to learn of the passing of longtime and outstanding Jets, Marvin Powell and Jim Sweeney,” Jets owner Woody Johnson tweeted<\/a>. “We’re thinking of their families today.”<\/p>\n

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Our entire Jets family is saddened to learn of the passing of longtime and outstanding Jets, Marvin Powell and Jim Sweeney. We’re thinking of their families today. pic.twitter.com\/qNVDWBi7nW<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Woody Johnson (@woodyjohnson4) October 2, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Powell, who lived in the Tampa, Florida, area, had lost touch with former teammates in recent years. Sweeney got into the coaching ranks. He coached collegiately at Duquesne (2000-02) and Albany (2014-21), serving as the offensive line coach at both schools.<\/p>\n

“This is just shocking, to lose two former teammates like this, so close together,” former Jets wide receiver Wesley Walker, who played with both, told ESPN on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n

“Marvin was my best friend when we played,” Walker said. “We were drafted together, and he was the best man at my wedding. He was very intelligent, just a physical specimen on the field but a teddy bear off it. A sweetheart of a guy.”<\/p>\n

Walker called Sweeney “a very classy guy. He wasn’t flamboyant. He was a very durable, come-to-work kind of guy, the kind of guy you always had respect for.”<\/p>\n

Powell is survived by four children, Marvin III, Jackson, Amerique and Veronique, and three grandchildren, Morgan, Josephine and Marvin IV.<\/p>\n

Sweeney is survived by his wife, Julie, and their five children: Shannon, Liam, Aislinn, Kilian and Teagan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n