Chris Dalman


Christopher William Dalman is a former professional American football player who played offensive lineman for seven seasons for the San Francisco 49ers.

Early life and college career

Dalman was born March 15, 1970 in Salinas, California to William Dalman and Janet Dalman. He was an offensive/defensive tackle for Palma High School in Salinas, graduating in 1988. He was a four-year football letter-winner at Stanford University. Dalman is notable in that he is one of the few players to successfully undergo spinal fusion and return to the playing field, having undergone the surgery between his sophomore and junior years at Stanford. While an undergraduate at Stanford he became a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science in 1992.

Professional playing career

Drafted in the sixth round in the 1993 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers, Dalman started 64 games in seven seasons with the 49ers. He first started all 16 regular season games in 1996. He was part of the Super Bowl XXIX Champion team in 1995.

Coaching career

After playing in the National Football League, he went back to Palma in 2001 to become an assistant football coach and English teacher. After a stint as the assistant offensive line coach for the Atlanta Falcons from 2005 to 2006, he became the offensive line coach and running game coordinator at Stanford until resigning in January 2009 to become varsity offensive line coach at Palma and the Director of Admissions.

Post-football career

Dalman currently is the President of Palma School in Salinas, California, appointed July 2020. He was most recently Assistant Principal and Dean of Students at the school from 2015-2020.

Personal life

Dalman is married to Yanne, an elementary school teacher.
They have two children, Kate and Drew. Drew played football at Palma and currently plays football at Stanford. Kate is the operations and recruiting assistant for the Stanford football program.