The newest Pro Football Hall of Fame class has been set, and on Saturday, it was announced that linebacker Junior Seau, defensive end/linebacker Charles Haley, receiver Tim Brown, running back Jerome Bettis, offensive guard Will Shields, executive Bill Polian, executive Ron Wolf, and center Mick Tinglehoff would be inducted into Canton, Ohio, this summer.
It’s a tough process for the voters – the sportswriters who spend hours and hours the day before the Super Bowl trying to figure out who deserves the honor – but that doesn’t mean there aren’t second guesses. See what I mean?
Either way, here are my five takeaways from Saturday’s announcement.
1) Marvin Harrison, one of the most prolific receivers in league history, didn’t make it, but I’m not all that surprised or disappointed. The fact is there's been a logjam at the receiver position the past several years, and though Harrison has 1,102 career receptions (the third-most in history) and 128 touchdown catches (fifth-most), it’s become a wait-your-turn line for receivers trying to get into the HOF. In 2013, it was Cris Carter’s turn. In 2014, it was Andre Reed’s turn. This year, it’s Tim Brown’s turn. Really, there’s little doubt Harrison will one day be inducted. He'll just have to wait a little longer.
2) Charles Haley finally made it, and it’s about time. Haley’s case was interesting. The defensive end/linebacker played 13 seasons in the NFL (eight for the Cowboys and five for the 49ers), and he helped his teams win five Super Bowl titles. Before Haley, no player had ever won that many NFL titles. Since Haley, nobody has done it. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was one of the scariest defenders in the league, but he only recorded 100.5 sacks in his career (that’s 59.5 less than non-Hall of Famer Kevin Greene) and he had a contentious relationship with the media. Finally, after five years as a Hall of Fame finalist and 16 years after he retired, Haley is rightfully where he belongs.
3) Tony Dungy didn’t make the Hall of Fame again, and I’m OK with it. Dungy made enormous strides for African-American coaches, and he continues to serve as a conscience for the league (though, he has been awfully inconsistent on the league’s social issues). And he was extraordinary as the Colts coach, accumulating an 85-27 record and a Super Bowl XLI title. But he was rather ordinary during his tenure with the Buccaneers before he was fired (the team won the Super Bowl the year after he departed) and remember, three coaches who have won more Super Bowls than Dungy are not in the HOF. Though it might sting that former Colts executive Bill Polian – who helped build those wonderful teams in Indianapolis – won his spot in Canton this year, it’s still unclear whether Dungy ever deserves to be enshrined.
4) Seau’s induction will be bittersweet. He’s one of the greatest linebackers of all time, but he committed suicide in 2012 and asked that his brain be studied for the damage it suffered as he played. His family has been embroiled in lawsuits against the NFL, and the lasting image many of us will have of Seau is his untimely death and its aftermath. He’s both the poster boy for NFL greatness and for concussion consequences. It’s an interesting legacy for an important man. Hopefully, his family and his fans can thoroughly enjoy what I imagine Seau would have seen as an immense honor.
5) Former grocery-store-employee-turned-Super-Bowl-winning-quarterback Kurt Warner didn’t make it on his first ballot. Hopefully, this week wasn’t a total bust for Warner and somebody rented his former house for the Super Bowl.
