The Giants’ Hall of Fame representation could grow by as many as two members when this year’s Hall of Fame class is announced on Saturday. Defensive end Michael Strahan, who spent his entire 15-year career with the Giants, and Bill Parcells, who led the Giants to a pair of Super Bowl victories are among the 15 finalists being considered by the Hall’s selection committee in their meeting Saturday morning. Election results will be announced at 6:30 p.m. ET (5:30 local time) during a one-hour NFL Network special, live from the Super Bowl Media Center in New Orleans.
Strahan played for the Giants from 1993-2007 and is the franchise leader in games played (216) and sacks (141.5), as well as the NFL’s single-season sacks record-holder with 22.5 in 2001. Strahan was a four-time first-team All-Pro in 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2003 with an NFL AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2001. Strahan was selected to seven Pro Bowls. Only four Giants have been selected to more Pro Bowls and all are Hall of Famers: linebackers Lawrence Taylor (10) and Harry Carson (9), offensive tackle Rosie Brown (9) and cornerback Emlen Tunnell (8).
Parcells was the Giants’ head coach from 1983-90. He was 77-49-1 in the regular season and 8-3 in the postseason, including victories in Super Bowls XXI and XXV. He later coached the New England Patriots, the Jets and the Dallas Cowboys.
Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, who coached Strahan from 2004-2007 and was a member of Parcells’ Giants staff from 1988-90, ardently believes both men belong in the Hall of Fame. “When I think of Michael,” Coughlin said, “I think of the combination of athletic skills, endurance, strength, the ability to play the game at a very high level for a very long time, plus he’s intelligent and he provided a player that young people could look at for how they study and prepare, how they practiced full-speed and then how they played the game.”
“Bill Parcells is a great football coach,” Coughlin said. “He has tremendous instincts. He has the ability to say the right thing at the right time, always did. He was a guy who set a very, very high standard and then held players to it.”
There are currently 18 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame who spent at least some or a majority of their career with the Giants. Big Blue trails only the Packers (21) and the Steelers (20) in members of it’s team that have been inducted.
The complete list of the 2013 Hall of Fame finalists are as follows:
Larry Allen – Guard/Tackle – 1994-2005 Dallas Cowboys; 2006-07 San Francisco 49ers
Jerome Bettis – Running Back – 1993-95 Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams; 1996-2005 Pittsburgh Steelers
Tim Brown – Wide Receiver/Kick Returner/Punt Returner – 1988-2003 Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders; 2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Cris Carter – Wide Receiver – 1987-89 Philadelphia Eagles; 1990-2001 Minnesota Vikings; 2002 Miami Dolphins
Curley Culp* – 1968-1974 Kansas City Chiefs; 1974-1980 Houston Oilers; 1980-81 Detroit Lions
Edward DeBartolo, Jr. – Owner – 1977-2000 San Francisco 49ers
Kevin Greene – Linebacker/Defensive End – 1985-1992 Los Angeles Rams; 1993-95 Pittsburgh Steelers; 1996, 1998-99 Carolina Panthers; 1997 San Francisco 49ers
Charles Haley – Defensive End/Linebacker – 1986-1991, 1999 San Francisco 49ers; 1992-96 Dallas Cowboys
Art Modell – Owner – 1961-1995 Cleveland Browns; 1996-2011 Baltimore Ravens
Jonathan Ogden – Tackle – 1996-2007 Baltimore Ravens
Bill Parcells – Coach – 1983-1990 New York Giants; 1993-96 New England Patriots; 1997-99 New York Jets; 2003-06 Dallas Cowboys
Andre Reed – Wide Receiver – 1985-1999 Buffalo Bills; 2000 Washington Redskins
Dave Robinson* – 1963-1972 Green Bay Packers; 1973-74 Washington Redskins
Warren Sapp – Defensive Tackle – 1995-2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 2004-07 Oakland Raiders
Will Shields – Guard – 1993-2006 Kansas City Chiefs
Michael Strahan – Defensive End – 1993-2007 New York Giants
Aeneas Williams – Cornerback/Safety – 1991-2000 Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals; 2001-04 St. Louis Rams
