Klingbeil was a member of the Roughriders team that won the 1989 Grey Cup, and he was named the defensive MVP of the game.[1]
In the NFL, Klingbeil played five seasons for the Miami Dolphins. He scored the game-winning touchdown in coach Don Shula's 300th win, recovering a fourth-quarter Don Majkowski fumble in the end zone to propel the Dolphins to a 16–13 victory over the Green Bay Packers.[2]
Following his playing career, he worked as an assistant coach at various colleges, but also had several run-ins with the law. In 2008, Klingbeil was charged with larceny.[3] While a coach at Michigan Technological University in 2013, Klingbeil was charged with misdemeanor possession of prescription drugs, to which he pleaded guilty.[4][5]
He died on June 19, 2018, in Chicago while returning to the Copper Country, Michigan, where he lived.[2][6]