San Jose State’s large place in Super Bowl history extends beyond serving this week as the host for the NFC champion Carolina Panthers.

The school was the first to have two graduates serve as Super Bowl-winning head coaches when Bill Walsh won three with the 49ers and Dick Vermeil captured one with the St. Louis Rams (SJSU has since been joined by Pacific thanks to the Raiders’ Tom Flores and Seattle Seahawks’ Pete Carroll).

It turns out, the owner of the most Super Bowl rings ever is also a Spartan. That would be Neal Dahlen, a former executive for the 49ers and Denver Broncos.

Dahlen, also a former SJSU quarterback, started as a part-time employee with the 49ers in 1979 and earned increasing roles throughout his time in San Francisco that coincided with their dominant run of five Super Bowl titles.

Dahlen was hired in 1996 as the Broncos’ director of player personnel in time to see Denver win two Super Bowl titles. He took over as general manager after the second title and held that role for three years in which the Broncos went 25-23 in the immediate aftermath of Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway’s retirement.

“I don’t think I have a favorite ring,” Dahlen said in an interview with San Jose State. “The second ring fits better if you’re going to wear it. … But the rest of them all have their own little, big stories to tell along the way.”

Dahlen grew up in San Bruno and went to Capuchino High before going to San Jose State. He played a season on the freshman team at quarterback and eventually earned his bachelor’s and masters degree from SJSU and had his eye on coaching.

Dahlen was coaching at San Mateo’s Hillsdale High when he first started part-time with the 49ers for Walsh. One duty he recalled with particular fondness was three straight weeks in which the team sent him across the country to Tampa, Fla., to scout Steve Young before the team made its trade for the Hall of Fame quarterback.

He already has a plan in place for his rings with each of his seven grandchildren in line to receive one. But he continues to enjoy them for now.

“Any one of all of them is the culmination of achieving the success that you were working for and the thousands of hours that you worked toward it,” Dahlen said. “You know the relief factor and then you know the gratification and all that. It’s not so much I’m going to go celebrate and wave it around or anything, it’s just that … we made it.”