In the spring of 2000 the Minnesota Vikings were looking to add a big time defensive playmaker and selected Boston College defensive tackle Chris Hovan.

Hovan became the 25th pick in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft and would end up playing five seasons for Minnesota and recording 17 sacks, along with 192 tackles. He never did end up being the defensive playmaker the Vikings were hoping for and some would call him a bust considering his draft position, but for whatever reason he was somewhat popular in Minnesota.

Recently I was at a Vikings game and I counted four Hovan jerseys when I wasn't even looking to spot them out.  His time in Minnesota is clearly remembered over a decade later or there was just a big sale of his jerseys on his way out.

After departing Minnesota in 2004, he went on to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and joined the St. Louis Rams in his final year in the league, but wouldn't play for the Rams as he was put on IR prior to the season. He would retire from the NFL in 2010.

Hovan didn't stay away from the game for long. He joined the University of South Florida coaching staff as the strength and conditioning coach in 2011. Following two years with South Florida, he accepted a position as the defensive line coach with the Tampa Bay Storm of the AFL according to Wikipedia.

Unfortunately, Hovan's post career resume hasn't been without incident as he was arrested for domestic violence charges in 2014 and a DUI in 2015.

Since his arrests, Hovan has tried to take a different path in life. He is currently an assistant coach at George Steinbrenner High School and does work as a public speaker, talking about his football past and how not to fall into some of the unfortunate situations he did post career.

Chris Hovan resides in Tampa, FL with his four children and his wife.



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