Rodney Harrison Was A Big Hit In San Diego For The Chargers

Rodney Harrison asked a group of writers a question that few could answer.

“Why aren’t I playing more?’’ Harrison inquired years ago.

The scribes weren’t sure and they didn’t have to ponder the question long.

Harrison, a fifth-round pick in 1994 soon shed his status as a special-teams player to become an All-Pro safety in a career which has landed him into the Chargers Hall of Fame.

Harrison, who’ll be inducted at halftime of Los Angeles’ game against the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 23.

The upbeat Harrison had a sensational run of delivering hard-nosed, in-your-face, football that made him one of the most feared defenders of his generation.

His style came with a price as he was fined more than $200,000 for questionable hits, a dose of regular discipline that often came with suspensions. Harrison, though, shrugged while noting that he was doing his part to prove the worth of safeties.

Harrison, a long-time member of NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” telecast, has a resume that screams Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Over his 15 seasons, with the first nine coming in San Diego and the final six with the New England Patriots where he won two Super Bowls, Harrison was named All-Pro and Pro Bowler twice and became the first player to record 30 interceptions and 30 sacks in a career.

Only one other player has achieved it, Hall of Famer Ray Lewis.

“What I remember most about Rodney is his incredible toughness,’’ former Chargers coach Bobby Ross said in a statement. ”He was a hard-hitting, relentless safety – fearless in every sense of the word.’’

Nicknamed “The Hitman” Harrison always played to the echo of the whistle and then some. He performed with an edge and flair that guaranteed opponents were always aware where No. 47 was on the field.

That’s why ex-Patriots coach Bill Belichick consistently champions his entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Harrison is already a member of the Patriots Hall of Fame.

“I think Rodney Harrison 100 percent (belongs) in that conservation,’’ Belichick said of Harrison’s bid to enter the game’s hallowed gates in Canton, Ohio. “And I’ve coached some of the other safeties in the Hall of Fame, and not taking anything away from them, but certainly Rodney Harrison belongs in that conversation.”

Harrison will become the 44th member of the Chargers Hall of Fame and its 36th player to be honored. Among those he’ll join is tight end Antonio Gates, who is being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in July.