Neal Dahlen

Dahlen was born on April 13, 1940.^[6][7][a] He attended Capuchino High School in San Bruno, California.^[8] He then played quarterback at San Jose State University, where he graduated from in 1963 (and earned a master's in 1964).^[9] He then coached baseball and football at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo,^[10] as well as at the College of San Mateo.

He started working part-time for the 49ers in 1979, and earned increasing administrative responsibilities. He moved to Denver in 1996 to become director of player personnel, and later was named general manager in 1999. Ted Sundquist replaced him in early 2002, and Dahlen became the team's director of football administration until he retired the following year.^[11]

Dahlen died on February 15, 2026, at the age of 85.^[12][13]