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 said Sunday.
Powell died of heart failure, according to his son, Marvin Powell III. Sweeney’s cause of death was not immediately released.
Powell, 67, was a 1977 first-round pick and three-time All-Pro who played with the Jets until 1985. He played the last two years of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Sweeney, who was 60, was a second-round pick in 1984 and started 158 straight games for the Jets, mostly at center. He was the full-time center for the Jets from 1988 to 1994, then finished his career with the Seattle Seahawks (1995) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (1996-99). He grew up in Pittsburgh and attended Pitt, where he was Dan Marino’s focal point.
“Our entire Jets family is saddened by the loss of longtime and outstanding Jets, Marvin Powell and Jim Sweeney,” said the Jets owner Woody Johnson tweeted. “We are thinking of their families today.”
Our entire Jets family is saddened by the passing of longtime and distinguished Jets Marvin Powell and Jim Sweeney. We are thinking of their families today. pic.twitter.com/qNVDWBi7nW
— Woody Johnson (@woodyjohnson4) October 2, 2022
Powell, who lived in the Tampa, Fla. area, had lost touch with former teammates in recent years. Sweeney rose to the coaching ranks. He coached together at Duquesne (2000-02) and Albany (2014-21) and served as offensive line coach at both schools.
“It’s just shocking to lose two former teammates so close together,” former Jets wide receiver Wesley Walker, who played with both, told ESPN Sunday morning.
“Marvin was my best friend when we played,” Walker said. “We were called up together and he was the best man at my wedding. He was very intelligent, only a physical specimen in the field but a teddy bear away from it. A darling of a guy.”
Walker called Sweeney “a very posh guy. He wasn’t flamboyant. He was a very durable guy who came to work, the guy you always had respect for.”
Powell is survived by four children, Marvin III, Jackson, Amerique, and Veronique, and three grandchildren, Morgan, Josephine, and Marvin IV.
Sweeney is survived by his wife Julie and their five children: Shannon, Liam, Aislinn, Kilian and Teagan.