Overview
- Niland died Saturday at his home in McKinney, Texas, and is survived by his wife Shaughn and daughters Haven and Jordan; funeral arrangements have not been announced.
- He was the Dallas Cowboys’ 1966 first‑round pick and a key left guard who started in Super Bowl VI and made six straight Pro Bowls from 1968–1973.
- Niland earned three first‑team All‑Pro selections and started 111 of 124 games for Dallas before finishing his 10‑year NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1975.
- In later life he suffered serious health problems, including dementia, mouth cancer, and multiple joint replacements, and his family said they will donate his brain to Boston University’s CTE Center for study.
- As the Cowboys’ first offensive lineman taken in the first round and a central figure in Dallas’s rise under Tom Landry, Niland’s death sharpens focus on player health and the growing body of research into trauma linked to pro football.