By John Turney 
Sunday, October 30, 2022, in Tulsa, OK, former Norte Dame and Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Mike Fanning passed away. He was 69. The cause of death has not been released.
Fanning was from Tulsa and attended Edison High School and was an All-State wrestler and a Parade All-American football player.
He had worked in the athletics department and The University of Tulsa for the last 13 years and Sunday night they confirmed his passing.
Tulsa athletic director Rick Dickson said in a statement Monday, "We are saddened by the news of Mike's passing. He was a tremendous football player at Notre Dame and in the NFL and carried that competitiveness and work ethic into everyday life. He was such a likable person who worked to help TU athletics achieve success."
Rams teammate Jack Youngblood added, "Mike was a really good guy, talented teammate…he made us laugh in the locker room with his dry humor. He was also my wingman in the fight!" Fred Dryer concurred, "Mike made everything and everyone around him better. Mike was a great teammate and had a great sense of humor."
Fanning was drafted by the Rams in 1975 ostensively to be Merlin Olsen's replacement. Olsen was going into his fourteenth season and the Rams front office wanted to get a young, talented player to groom so he'd be ready when the future Hall of Fame retired.
But the 'replacement for Olsen' plan didn't quite work out as planned but nonetheless Fanning had a fine NFL career and was a contributor to the excellent Rams defenses of that era.
The Rams took Fanning with the ninth overall pick in the 1975 draft. Fanning had been an All-American tackle at Notre Dame and also had experience as a defensive end. He broke an ankle as a rookie and didn't see much playing time. In his second year, Olsen who had decided to hang 'em up after the season and Fanning got some experience spelling him and recorded four sacks.
The following season fellow Rams defensive lineman Cody Jones won the left defensive tackle position, earning him the title as Olsen's replacement and Fanning was a backup but nursed a shoulder injury for much of the season. Fanning kept the same role in 1978 backing up Jones and Larry Brooks, the right defensive tackle and a couple of starts late in the season, filling in for Brooks.
In 1979 Fanning got his chance to start. Jones tore his Achilles and Fanning stepped in starting all 16 games plus the three playoff games, including Super Bowl XIV, recorded seven sacks and 51 tackles.
The following season Jones was the starter (Ray Malavasi had a policy that a player who got injured didn't lose his starting spot) but Fanning got 'starter's snaps' being part of a three-man rotation, stepping in for Jones and sometimes for Brooks as well. He had a career-high ten sacks that year and also forced a pair of fumbles.
In 1981 and '82 Fanning was again the starter since Jones changed positions and Fanning performed well—getting good pressure on the passer from the interior (leading Rams in sacks in 1982) and excelling against trap plays, which was his forte. He just was able to see and play those blocks well.
In 1983 Fanning, not being a fit for the Rams new 3-4 defense, was traded to the Lions, and he started some for them. His final season was in Seattle and he was their designated pass rusher, coming in as an interior rusher on passing downs and recording seven sacks, and forcing two fumbles.
He ended his ten-year career playing 137 games and made 244 tackles, 43½ sacks, and eight forced fumbles.
As a freshman at Notre Dame, Fanning was 25-1-1 with a then-school record 23 consecutive wins as a heavyweight wrestler and was a finalist in the NCAA tournament, and was a Freshman/Sophomore All-American.
With the Irish football team, he played defensive end as a sophomore and was a starting left defensive tackle his final two years totaling 164 tackles. He was and was a part of the first-ranked defense in 1974 and the second-ranked 1973 defense that led the school to the 1973 National championship.
His All-America honors included First-team selections by Sporting News, Time, the Walter Camp Football Foundation, and a Second-team selection by the Associated Press.
In 2001 Ara Parseghian said that Fanning was as fine an inside pass rusher as he had in his time at Notre Dame.
Career stats—
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