Super Bowl winner Ryan Clark puts son's national championship final with Notre Dame above his accomplishments

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will battle the Ohio State Buckeyes in the national championship game on Monday after beating the Penn State Nittany Lions 27-24 in the Orange Bowl last week. One of the Fighting Irish players, safety Jordan Clark, is the son of Super Bowl XLIII winner Ryan Clark.

In an interview with "TMZ Sports" on Monday, the former Pittsburgh Steelers safety put his son's appearance in the national championship game with Notre Dame above even winning the Super Bowl in 2009.

"I'm just proud of what he's been able to accomplish," Ryan Clark said, "what him and his teammates have been able to do this year. It will be, from a football standpoint, the most important night in my family's lives. I couldn't fight back tears just to see him so excited and so happy for the journey he was going on.

"This is better than winning a Super Bowl. Better than anything I've ever done in my career because it's my actual heart living out there on the field."

It was not the first time the former Pittsburgh Steelers star had revealed his deep emotions at his son's accomplishments. After the Orange Bowl, he appeared on the "Get Up" show and broke down how huge Jordan Clark being in the national championship game with Notre Dame would be for his family.

"The sort of feelings that overwhelm you, the tears that fall down your face," Clark said. "To walk into the locker room last night, to walk into the lobby last night and have him still be excited about that. To have him dang near in tears because of the ride that him and his teammates and his coaches have gone on. There's is no better feeling for a father."

When Jordan Clark predicted Notre Dame winning College Football Playoff

Ryan Clark's son, Jordan Clark, spent the majority of his career playing for the Arizona State Sun Devils, including the COVID-19-interrupted 2020 season. He entered the transfer portal in 2023 and joined Notre Dame. During his introductory news conference, he explained his reasons for choosing the Fighting Irish as his ultimate destination in his last year of eligibility.

"I’m going to play in an NFL defense surrounded by some of the best players in the country," Clark said. "Being coached by guys whose attention-to-detail is second-to-none in a building where everybody is dead set on not just getting to the playoff, but winning.”

With the Notre Dame Fighting Irish one step away from winning the national championship, Jordan Clark's introductory remarks seem prophetic.