This Saturday the National Football League will announce which of this year’s HOF finalists will be let into the game’s most prestigious club based in Canton, Ohio. No more than eight of these storied finalists will get elected into this year’s class and each player must receive at least 80 percent of the votes in order to join their fellow legends in eternal football glory. Here’s a look at the 18 finalists career achievements:
Quarterback
Kurt Warner
Kurt Warner is most famous for being at the helm of the St. Louis Rams “greatest show on turf” from 1998-2003. He won his only Super Bowl title during the 1999 season after his Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans 23-16. Warner went undrafted out of Northern Iowa and was actually cut by the Green Bay Packers during the 1994 season. Warner spent time in the AFL with the Iowa Barnstormers from 1995-1997 before his NFL career took off with the 1999 miracle season. Kurt Warner is recognized as one of the best undrafted players of all time and was named league MVP twice with the Rams. He went to 3 three Super Bowls, including one with the Arizona Cardinals during his incredible 2008 run which ended with receiving the Walter Payton Man of The Year award. Warner ended his career with 32,344 yards, 208 touchdowns and an incredible 93.7 career passer rating. He also had the 2nd best completion percentage of all time after the 2009 season.
Running Backs
Terrell Davis
Terrell Davis was selected in the sixth round of the NFL draft by the Denver Broncos. No one thought the back would have a very big impact, but Davis managed to secure a starting spot in his rookie year. From there Davis dominated between the tackles rushing for over 1,000 yards in his first year while winning offensive player of the year in 1996 during his second season. Davis helped the Broncos win back to back Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998 while setting an NFL playoff record with seven straight 100 yard performances during that span. Davis’s career was cut short because of injury, but the Bronco ended his career with over 7600 yards and 60 touchdowns in just 78 games earning him a spot on the 1990’s all decade team.
Jerome Bettis
“The Bus” out of Notre Dame was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams 10th overall in the 1993 NFL draft. Like Davis, Bettis made an immediate impact as a rookie rushing for 1,429 yards on his way to his single game career high of 212 yards against the Saints. That year Bettis won rookie of the year and led the Rams in rushing during his career with them. Bettis is most famous for his time in Pittsburgh where he was all pro during his first season. Bettis won his only Super Bowl in 2005 in his hometown of Detroit. At the time of his retirement after that season, Bettis ranked fifth all-time in rushing with 13,662 yards on3,479 career carries with 91 rushing touchdowns.
Wide Receivers
Marvin Harrison
Marvin Harrison was drafted 19th by the Colts during the 1996 NFL draft out of Syracuse University. He and Peyton Manning turned out to be one of the best quarterback/receiver combos in NFL history. Harrison was elected to 8 pro bowls and still holds the record for most receptions in a single season at 143 catches. Harrison is also second on the all-time list for overall receptions at 1,102, just behind hall of fame wide receiver Jerry Rice. He won Super Bowl XLI in 2006 and holds the Colts record for most post season games with 16. Harrison ended his career in 2008 with 14,580 yards and 128 receiving touchdowns. His 14,580 yards receiving yards rank 7th all time.
Tim Brown
Another Notre Dame HOF finalist, Tim Brown was drafted 6th overall in the 1988 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Raiders. Brown was named first-team All-Pro after leading the NFL in kickoff return yards his first season and setting an NFL rookie record for combined net yards after hauling in 43 receptions. After being used sparingly through the late 80’s and the early 90’s, Tim Brown became a household name recording 9 straight 1,000 yard seasons starting in 1993. Brown was named to 9 pro bowls and played in a Super Bowl for the Oakland Raiders in 2002. Brown retired ranked fifth all time in net yards with 19,682 and is currently 6th on the all-time receivers list with 14,934 yards (only 354 yards ahead of Harrison) and 100 touchdowns. Harrison and Brown each have more yards than every receiver in the hall of fame except for Jerry Rice.
Offensive Lineman
Orlando Pace
Out of Ohio State as the first overall pick in the 1997 draft, Orlando Pace has always been one of the leagues most talented offensive tackles. Orlando Pace played a huge part in fellow finalist Kurt Warner’s career and blocked for hall of fame rusher Marshall Faulk. Pace played almost his entire career with the Rams winning two Super Bowls and going to the pro bowl seven times. At 6’7” Pace is the biggest offensive lineman finalist in this year’s class.
Will Shields
Shields was drafted in the 3rd round of the NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs out of Nebraska. Will Shields played 14 seasons and never missed a game for the Chiefs and started 223 consecutive games which is a Chiefs franchise record. The talented guard made an incredible 12 pro bowls in his career and was named to the NFL all decade team of the 2000’s. Shields also won the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2003 and his 223 consecutive starts ranks 5th on the all-time players list for regular season starts in the NFL.
Mick Tingelhoff
Tingelhoff was the center for the Minnesota Vikings from 1962-1978. From 1968-1978 Tingelhoffs Vikings went to the playoffs 9 out of those 10 seasons. Tingelhoff played in four Super Bowls and was elected to six pro bowls. Tingelhoff helped HOF quarterback Fran Tarkenton dominate the 1970’s and his 240 consecutive starts ranks second all-time only behind Brett Favre.
Defensive Lineman
Charles Haley
Haley is the only defensive lineman in this year’s list of finalists. He was the fourth round draft pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 1986 and played for both the Niners and Dallas Cowboys. Haley is the only player in NFL history to win five Super bowls. He won two with the 49ers and won three Super Bowls in four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. Haley’s best year was with the 49ers in 1990 where he totaled 16 sacks. He only played for one team with a losing record in his 12 year career and was elected to five pro bowls. His speed rush off the edge would set the tone for the new breed of pass rushers that we have in today’s modern game.
Linebackers
Tiaina “Junior” Seau
Seau was selected 5th overall in the 1990 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers. Seau started every game of his 20 year career while playing for the Chargers, Dolphins and Patriots. Seau was the NFL’s defensive player of the year in 1992 and 1998 and elected to 12 pro bowls. Seau totaled 18 interceptions and 56.5 sacks over his career and played on the losing side of two Super Bowls with the Patriots. Seau also won the Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 1994 and the Don Shula Leadership award in 2003 and 2004. The late Seau’s contributions on and off the field live on as he was one of the great football ambassadors the game has ever known.
Kevin Greene
Greene is yet another “Ram” to be a finalist for this year’s 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. A fifth round draft pick by the LA Rams in 1985, Greene played for the Rams, Steelers, Panthers and 49ers. Greene was one of the best pass rushers of his era, had 160 sacks during his career, and is the Panthers all-time leader in sacks. Greene is also 3rd on the all time sacks list. He also won league sack titles in 1994 and 1996 and was elected to five pro bowls. Greene was elected to the NFL all decade team for the 1990’s.
Defensive Back
John Lynch
John Lynch was selected in the 3rd round of the 1993 NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Lynch played his college ball at Stanford and is one of the smartest, hard hitting safeties to ever play the game. Lynch struggled to find steady playing time until he broke out in 1998. From 1998 to 2008 he was voted to the Pro Bowl 9 times, which ranks second all-time at the safety position for pro bowl appearances. He was a huge part of the Bucs Super Bowl winning defense in 2002 and is first in Tampa Bay history in playoff games played at nine. Lynch left Tampa as a free agent in 2004 where he continued his dominant play for the Denver Broncos. Lynch finished his career with 26 interceptions and more than 1,000 tackles.
Place Kicker
Morten Anderson
Anderson is trying to be just the second kicker in the HOF. Anderson played 25 seasons after being drafted by the Saints during the fourth round of the 1982 NFL draft. He played half of his career in New Orleans, spent six years with the Falcons, played a year with the New York Giants, kicked it for two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, and played a season in 2004 with the Minnesota Vikings. This journeyman scored consistently wherever he went but finished his career in Atlanta in 2007. At the time of his retirement in 2007, he had set the NFL record for most points at 2544, (845 points higher than hall of fame kicker Jan Stenerud) as well as games played at 382. Both of those records stand today and Andersen was a seven time pro bowler who made the 1980’s and 1990’s all-decade teams.
Coaches
Tony Dungy
Dungy started coaching at the professional level as a defensive assistant in 1981 for the Pittsburgh Steelers. From then he moved up in the ranks and became a head coach in 1996 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he coached fellow hall of fame finalist John Lynch. After Tampa Bay, Dungy became coach of the Indianapolis Colts and coached Colt legends such as Marvin Harrison and Peyton Manning. Dungy finished .500 or better in 12 of his 13 seasons as head coach and was voted coach of the year with the 1997 Bucs and the 2005 Colts who went on to win the Super Bowl. His win percentage during the regular season with the Colts was .76, which is the highest win percentage of any coach in the HOF with one team through at least 100 games with the exception of Bud Grant. Tony Dungy also has several former assistants that went on to have exceptional coaching careers and win Super Bowls of their own. The list includes Mike Tomlin, Herm Edwards, and Lovie Smith. Tony Dungy is currently an analyst on NBC’s “Football Night in America.”
Jimmy Johnson
Jimmy Johnson was a dominant coach at the college level for bigtime schools such as the University of Miami and Arkansas. In the NFL he was the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys from 1989-1993 and the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 1996-1999. He would go on to coach future hall of famers Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Dan Marino. Johnson was named coach of the year in 1990 and won two Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys in back to back seasons in 1992 and 1993. Johnson only lost one post season game as head coach of the Cowboys posting a 7-1 record. Johnson is now a football analyst for Fox sports.
Don Coryell
Coryell took the NFL by storm when he led the St. Louis Cardinals to a 10-4 record in just his second season. Coryrell is credited with the revival of the Cardinals and led “Big Red” to back to back divisional championships from 1974-1975. Coryell also revamped a lowly Chargers offense when he took over in 1978. Coryell coached in San Diego for nine seasons winning AFC coach of the year once. Coryell also won the NFL coach of the year in 1974. Coryell was one of the best offensive minds of the 1970’s.
Contributors
Bill Polian
Polian started as a pro scout for the Kansa City Chiefs from 1978 to 1982. From there, Polian was the GM of the Buffalo Bills from 1986 to 1993. In his time in Buffalo Polian’s Bills made it to three straight Super Bowls but failed to win. After being fired by the Bills, he was the GM for the then brand new Carolina Panthers from 1994 to 1997. Polian’s Panthers made it to the NFC Championship in just their second season as a franchise. After the Panthers, Polian went on to become the president of the Indianapolis Colts where he made the biggest decision of his career. The Colts drafted Peyton Manning in the 1998 draft and from then Polian’s Colts put together 11 winning seasons in his 14 seasons with the Colts. Polian is now a football analyst for ESPN.
Ron Wolf
Wolf spent 38 seasons in the NFL with four different NFL teams and was a part of five super bowl teams. He spent time with the Raiders, Bucs, Packers, Chargers and Jets. Ron Wolf is most famous for bringing success to Green Bay. He was in charge of hiring legendary head coach Mike Holmgren and brought in a quarterback from the Atlanta Falcons by the name of Brett Favre. While Wolf was in Green Bay as GM, the Packers had a record of 92-52 with two Super Bowl appearances. Wolf was named as a consultant for the New York Jets after the 2014 season to help Green and White find a new head coach and GM after John Idzik and Rex Ryan were let go.
