Tag: Dan Reeves

Randy Gradishar, Dan Reeves, Mike Shanahan, Alex Gibbs among 2024 Hall of Fame semifinalists

Randy Gradishar, Mike Shanahan and late coaches Dan Reeves and Alex Gibbs have been named semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the 2024 semifinalists for the Senior candidates and Coach/Contributor categories on Wednesday. Among the semifinalists are former Denver Broncos linebacker Randy Gradishar, ex-head coaches Mike Shanahan and Dan Reeves, and former assistant Alex Gibbs.

Each of them has a very strong case for the Hall of Fame.

Randy Gradishar: Gradishar was the soul of the 1970s “Orange Crush,” in a time when defense was the main event in the NFL. Gradishar won the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 1978, was voted to seven Pro Bowls, was a first-team All-Pro in 1977 and 1978, and was a five-time All-Pro during his ten-year career. Players from his era with similar statistics (Robert Brazile 10 seasons/7 Pro Bowls, Jack Ham 12 seasons/8 Pro Bowls, Ted Hendricks 15 seasons/8 Pro Bowls, Jack Lambert 11 seasons/9 Pro Bowls) all reached the Hall of Fame. Gradishar may be helped by the Hall of Fame’s new Senior Committee policy, which will allow the committee to select a maximum of three players to the Hall of Fame for the next two years. Gradishar’s anxiously-awaited selection would right a serious wrong for all of Broncos Country.

Dan Reeves: Reeves was the head coach for three Broncos teams that went to the Super Bowl (the 1986, 1987 and 1989 seasons). Reeves is second all-time for the franchise in games coached and games won. He is fifth all-time in winning percentage in Denver history (.601). As a coach and player (he played as a halfback, the equivalent of today’s fullback/tight end), he appeared in nine Super Bowls. He is also in the Broncos’ Ring of Fame. Reeves died in 2022.

Mike Shanahan: Shanahan’s Hall of Fame resume writes itself. He is the winningest coach in franchise history and helped Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway over the hump to win back-to-back Super Bowls in the 1997 and ’98 seasons. He developed multiple 1,000-yard rushers with the Broncos. He also has a third Super Bowl ring from his time as San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator (1992-94). Shanahan is a Broncos Ring of Fame member.

Alex Gibbs: Gibbs coached the Broncos’ offensive line three different times, as offensive line coach (1984-1987, 1995-2003) and as an offensive line consultant (2013). Behind Gibbs’ lines, Denver had multiple 1,000-yard rushers in a season, and a historic 2,000-yard season from Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis in 1998. Gibbs was instrumental in helping protect an aging Elway in the twilight of his career and was a visionary in the world of zone-blocking schemes. Gibbs died in 2021.

The latest member of the Hall of Fame from the Broncos is former linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who is part of the Hall’s 2023 class.

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Tom Coughlin heads list of 8 Giants semifinalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame

Eight former members of the New York Giants, including head coach Tom Coughlin, are among the semifinalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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Four former New York Giants players, one former coach, and former head coach Tom Coughlin have been included on a list of 60 semifinalists who will advance to the next round of consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.

Running back Ottis ‘O.J.’ Anderson, quarterback Charlie Conerly, linebacker Carl Banks, and defensive back Everson Walls will be among a group considered to be among 12 Seniors and 12 Coach/Contributors advancing to the final stage.

Late Giants head coach Dan Reeves, a two-time AP NFL Coach of the Year, is also a semifinalist.

The results will be announced on July 27.

Coughlin coached the Giants for 12 seasons (2004-15) and was a two-time Super Bowl winner(XLII, XLVI). He also was the first head coach of the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars in 1995, taking the team to two AFC Championship Games. He had an overall NFL record of 182-157 over 20 seasons.

Anderson split 14 seasons between the St. Louis Cardinals (1979-1986) and Giants (1986-1992). He is a two-time Super Bowl champion and six-time 1,000-yard rusher. He was also named MVP of Super Bowl XXV.

Conerly played all 14 of his NFL seasons (1948-61) with the Giants. He won the NFL title in 1956 and passed for 19,488 yards and 173 touchdowns.

Banks was the third overall selection in the 1984 NFL draft out of Michigan State. He was a two-time Super Bowl champion during his time with the Giants (1984-1992). Banks also played one season in Washington (1993) and two in Cleveland (1994-95).

Walls played most of his NFL career (1981-93) with the Dallas Cowboys, where he was named to three first-team All-Pro teams, four Pro Bowls and led the NFL in interceptions three times while in Dallas. He finished his career with the Giants and Cleveland Browns and helped Big Blue to victory in Super Bowl XXV.

Also on the coach/contributor list is former Giants assistant/defensive coordinator Marty Schottenheimer and head coach John McVay.

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5 best coaches in Denver Broncos history

Do you agree with our list of the best coaches in Broncos history?

With the recent hiring of Sean Payton, now’s a good time to look back at the best coaches in Denver Broncos’ history. In our book, wins and losses are important, but not the only factor when determining the ranking. Do you agree with this list?

5 best Broncos who never won a Super Bowl

It’s heartbreaking that these Broncos legends never won a Super Bowl ring.

As we come to the close of another NFL season following Super Bowl LVII on Sunday, we take a look back at some of the best Denver Broncos who never won a Super Bowl.

Which former Bronco will reach the Hall of Fame next?

Randy Gradishar should already be in the Hall of Fame. Mike Shanahan and late coach Dan Reeves also have strong HOF resumes.

After DeMarcus Ware was named a member of the 2022 Pro Football Hall of Fame class on Thursday evening, the Denver Broncos now have 11 representatives in the Hall of Fame.

The question for fans in Denver now becomes, which former Bronco will be enshrined in Canton, Ohio next?

The team’s biggest snub is arguably linebacker Randy Gradishar, a senior candidate who has been inexcusably overlooked by Hall of Fame voters.

Other player snubs include linebacker Karl Mecklenburg, cornerback Louis Wright, wide receivers Rod Smith and Lionel Taylor and center Tom Nalen, among others.

The Broncos’ next representative to reach the Hall of Fame might not be a player, though.

Late coach Dan Reeves is the only former coach not in Canton who reached four Super Bowls. Reeves will likely reach the Hall of Fame eventually, it’s just a matter of when.

Fellow coach Mike Shanahan also has a strong Hall of Fame resume that includes three Super Bowl wins, including two as Denver’s head coach.

Reeves and Shanahan seem to be the most likely candidates among former Broncos to get a Hall of Fame nod next.

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Throwback Thursday: Giants batter Lions, 35-7, in 1996

In a 1996 game at the Pontiac Silverdome, the New York Giants shut down Barry Sanders and dominated the Detroit Lions, 35-7.

The New York Giants will face the Detroit Lions for the 46th time in their history this Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

The series is not one of the brighter spots in the Giants’ 97-year history. They are 21-24-1 against the Lions’ franchise going back to 1930, when the Lions were known as the Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans. They moved to Detroit and became the Lions in 1934.

The Giants have not lit up the scoreboard against Detroit. They have scored over 20 points only 15 times and over 30 just three times: 35 points in 1943 and 1996 and 30 points in 1988. The Giants won all three of those games.

The Giants will seek to make it four games over 30 points this week as the Lions enter Sunday’s game allowing 29.3 points per game.

In the 1996 game, the 2-5 Giants — in Dan Reeves’ final year as head coach — traveled to the Pontiac Silverdome to face Wayne Fontes’ 4-3 Lions.

The Giants defense came to play, especially the secondary, intercepting Lions quarterback Scott Mitchell three times and his backup, Don Majkowski, twice.

Defensive back Maurice Douglass and defensive tackle Ray Agnew both returned interceptions for touchdowns. Safety Tito Wooten, who also had a pick in the game, blocked a punt out of the end zone for a safety.

“At one point, I talked to a cornerback on the way off the field,” said Lions wide receiver Herman Moore. “I asked him, ‘Are we that predictable?’ And he said, ‘Honestly, yes.'”

The Giants’ defense held future Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders to just 47 yards on 16 carries.

“We are always striving to create turnovers,” Douglass said. “We thought that if we could contain Barry, we would force Mitchell to pass a lot, and that we could force mistakes.”

On offense, the Giants battered the Lions with running back Rodney Hampton (27 rushes for 76 yards). Wide receiver Chris Callaway caught four passes for 92 yards and a touchdown.

The Giants won the game, 35-7.

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Every player with a passing TD, rushing TD, and receiving TD in the same game

With Christian McCaffrey’s triple-crown day, there are 11 players pro football history to throw, run, and catch a touchdown in the same game. Here they all are.

On Sunday, San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey did something that hasn’t been done in pro football in 17 years. McCaffrey threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brandon Aiyuk with 12:10 left in the first half.

Then, with 1:51 left in the third quarter, McCaffrey extended his short route as Jimmy Garoppolo rolled around to avoid pressure, coming up with this great nine-yard touchdown catch.

And THEN, with 12:07 left in the game, McCaffrey bashed it in for this one-yard touchdown run.

It’s been since 2005 since any player has touchdowns in all three ways in a single game, and only 11 players have done it in pro football history. Who else has pulled off this impressive feat?

DeMarcus Ware among ex-Broncos nominated for 2023 Hall of Fame class

After being snubbed last year, Broncos Super Bowl 50 champion DeMarcus Ware should be a favorite to reach the Hall of Fame this year.

After being snubbed by voters in his first year of eligibility in 2021, Denver Broncos Super Bowl 50 champion DeMarcus Ware has once again been nominated as a modern-era candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Ware is among 11 former Broncos who were nominated this week, the Hall of Fame announced Tuesday. Five players who won back-to-back Super Bowls with Denver in the late 1990s headline the list: wide receiver Rod Smith, center Tom Nalen, kicker Jason Elam, guard Mark Schlereth and defensive lineman Neil Smith.

Some of those players had longer tenures with the Broncos than Ware, but he is arguably the team’s most accomplished candidate, and he’s probably the most likely to reach the Hall of Fame first.

Denver also had former linebackers Al Wilson and Seth Joyner, wide receiver Wes Welker, defensive lineman Simeon Rice and cornerback Dre’ Bly nominated for the 2023 Hall of Fame class.

Former Broncos linebacker Randy Gradishar was snubbed as a senior candidate this year, as were Mike Shanahan and the late Dan Reeves as coach candidates. Denver hasn’t gotten the love it deserves from Hall of Fame voters historically, but Ware should be a strong candidate for the 2023 class.

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Broncos greats Mike Shanahan, Dan Reeves snubbed by Hall of Fame voters

Don Coryell has been chosen over Mike Shanahan and Dan Reeves as the coach/contributor finalist for the 2023 class.

Former Denver Broncos coaches Mike Shanahan and Dan Reeves have been snubbed by Pro Football Hall of Fame voters once again.

Shanahan and Reeves were both candidates for the 2023 class in the coach/contributor category, but voters instead chose former Cardinals/Chargers coach Don Coryell as the lone finalist.

Shanahan won Super Bowl XXIX as an assistant coach with the San Francisco 49ers before going on to later win Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII as a head coach with the Broncos. He is a member of the Broncos’ Ring of Fame, and elements of the “Shanahan offense” are still seen across the NFL today.

The late Reeves won Super Bowl VI as a player with the Dallas Cowboys and later won Super Bowl XII as an assistant coach in Dallas. He went on to reach four Super Bowls as a head coach in the NFL — three with Denver and one with the Atlanta Falcons. A two-time AP Coach of the Year and a member of the Broncos’ Ring of Fame, Reeves died in January at age 77.

Randy Gradishar, who anchored the team’s famous “Orange Crush” defense from 1974-1983, was also snubbed by voters as a senior candidate, so his overdue trip to Canton will have to wait at least one more year as well.

Hall of Fame voters will meet in January to determine the complete 2023 class, including 15 modern-era candidates. Broncos Super Bowl 50 champion DeMarcus Ware will likely be among the modern-era finalists.

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Broncos great Randy Gradishar snubbed by Hall of Fame voters once again

Randy Gradishar should already be in the Hall of Fame.

Pro Football Hall of Fame voters named three senior finalists for the 2023 class on Tuesday, and Denver Broncos great Randy Gradishar did not make the cut. Instead, the senior committee named Chuck Howley, Joe Klecko and Ken Riley as the three senior finalists.

Gradishar will now have to wait at least another year before getting into Canton, with his already long overdue enshrinement delayed yet again.

Gradishar, 70, played for the Denver Broncos from 1974-1983, anchoring the team’s famous “Orange Crush” defense. Gradishar helped Denver reach the Super Bowl following the 1977 season, and he won Defensive Player of the Year honors one season later.

Gradishar totaled 2,049 tackles in 10 seasons, which still stand as a franchise record. He started 145 straight games, recording 20 interceptions and 13 fumble recoveries, before retiring at age 31.

A seven-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro, Gradishar is a member of the Broncos’ Ring of Fame.

The Broncos do have two former coaches — Mike Shanahan and the late Dan Reeves — who are finalists for the 2023 Hall of Fame class. That will be announced Aug. 23, and the full 2023 class will be revealed before Super Bowl LVII.

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