What's the criteria for an NFL HC to be in the HOF?

Is Dungy that much better than Seifert that he's a virtual lock and Seifert can't come close to Canton?

 

Oh yeah...

Seifert will never get any credit for the Super Bowls he won, because he inherited that team and couldn't win elsewhere. Is that fair? I don't know, but he'll never even get close to getting in, so it's not going to be an issue.

 

I wouldn't vote Johnson in either.

I tend to lean toward Belichick and nobody else, but as soon as any of the guys who only won once get in, I think we're going to see people making a case for quite a few guys.

Unless the thinking is that Dungy was a trailblazer for minorities in the coaching field and that's why you put him in over a Holmgren or Vermeil or Cowher. I think that would be a cop out, but it wouldn't surprise me if that would be the justification to put Dungy in over some on that list.

 

I just can't see Dungy as a first timer

The only first-timers are Landry, Noll and Shula.

Lombardi doesn't count because the criteria was different then, so he actually waited three years under those rules.

Levy waited three years, all as a finalist
Gibbs waited four years.
Walsh waited four years, two as a finalist
Grant waited seven years, four as a finalist
Parcells was a finalist four times, although his circumstances were different

 

PK has dropped hints that he thinks Dungy will go in this year. That's not to say he knows anything, but he can probably make a more educated guess than most of us.

It is pretty absurd for any coaching candidate not to have to wait when you see how some of the greatest coaches of all-time have had to wait.

 

Sean Payton should get two plaques, just for winning the Super Bowl with the Saints.

 

Crap, I forgot Derrick Brooks is up this year too.

If you believe Walter Jones is a first-ballot guy, then there is no way the voters put in four first-timers (Brooks, Jones, Harrison and Dungy) to just one hold-over, which is going to be Strahan. That would be eight of 10 guys eligible starting in 2012.

Guys stuck on the waiting list are gonna be pissed.

 

Put Dungy's name on Seifert's resume and Seifert's name on Dungy's resume. Dungy becomes the first African American HC to win not 1 but 2 Super Bowls. And the 2nd one with a roster of key players different than the team he inherited. And Seifert becomes the HC that had a losing career playoff record, lost home playoff games and couldn't win more than 1 Super Bowl with the best QB in a generation and a top 5 all time player.

 

You hinted earlier that Strahan will get in simply because the Super Bowl is in the NY area. Do you really think that will make one bit of difference in the way the committee members vote? I've got to tell you, I know a number of those guys and I can't see that making any difference at all to them.

Maybe Strahan gets in this time anyway -- he certainly has a good case -- but I can't imagine that being a factor in the voting.

 

People said they thought Strahan being from NYC and working in the media would get him in last year and that didn't happen.

He'll probably get in on the next vote and is certainly deserving.

 

I'd have to revisit the whole list to see who I would put into the HOF.

Of those who have been on the ballot for multiple years, I think it's time to start looking closely at Charles Haley.

ETA: And if people were to look at the list and determine that Haley and Strahan were two of the five best overall HOF candidates, then put them both in. People need to quit worrying about whatever arguments about various positions -- it's about determining who are the best overall candidates and not worry about equal representation for positions, teams, etc.

And you especially don't want to dwell on feel-good stories, which is really what Peter King seems to imply. Not that I believe Dungy's candidacy isn't worth discussing, but let's not think he has to go in simply to make people feel good about themselves.

 

In fairness, Ewbank won three pro football championships. Two of them were NFL titles before the AFL/AFC even existed (1958, 1959).

Saying Ewbank only won one Super Bowl is like saying Lombardi only won two. Lombardi won five titles, just three of them came before the Super Bowl existed.

And Madden is in more for "meritorious service" than he is for coaching. Stram also won an AFL title in the pre-Super Bowl era (and two in the Super Bowl era).