Tag: Hall of Fame

Adam Schefter says Mike Shanahan is a ‘no-brainer’ for Hall of Fame

Mike Shanahan reaching the Hall of Fame with the 2025 class is a “no-brainer,” according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Wait, Mike Shanahan isn’t in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

Current Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton assumed Shanahan wasn’t in yet because he wasn’t eligible. Shanahan is eligible, and a Hall of Fame nod is long overdue. ESPN’s Adam Schefter believes Canton could be calling soon.

Shanahan, who has not coached since 2013, more than meets the qualifications of being out of pro football for five years. And after winning two Super Bowls as head coach and one as an assistant, and coordinating two of the first six offenses to score 500 points, one should wonder why he is not in the Hall.

Thankfully, Schefter makes it very clear why, in 2025, the buck stops here for Shanahan and the Hall.

“I do know, having been a voter for four or five years in the past, that if I were in that room, you would have my undivided support,” Schefter said during a recent episode of his podcast with Shanahan, via Aric DiLalla of DenverBroncos.com. “And I certainly hope there are enough other people that also feel that way.

“Again, when you have the records that you do, the marks that you set, the championships that you have, the MVPs you coached and the coaching tree you produced, this should be, to me, if you don’t mind me saying, a no-brainer.”

While Schefter can only do so much, seeing those in the media campaign for such a legendary and innovative coach is a positive development, and Shanahan might now have the momentum to finally reach Canton as a member of the 2025 class.

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After 3 games, it’s clear Saints are reducing Cameron Jordan’s role

After three games, it’s clear the New Orleans Saints coaching staff are reducing Cameron Jordan’s role. It just comes down to who can make the most plays:

Did you know Cameron Jordan played the second-fewest snaps in a game of his career on Sunday? The New Orleans Saints defensive end was on the field for just 20 snaps while taking a backseat to younger teammates Carl Granderson (55) and Chase Young (53) against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Jordan managed just 17 snaps in last year’s game with the Detroit Lions — his first since suffering a serious ankle injury, and that remains his career-low. He played 27 snaps in Week 1 (46% of the total) and 34 reps in Week 2 (49%), but that count dropped to 20 (28%) in Week 3.

Jordan was the best player on his side of the ball in New Orleans for more than a decade. But those days are behind us, and the Saints are making adjustments to cope with their new reality. Just ask head coach Dennis Allen.

“I think you’re gonna see more of Chase and Carl,” Allen said Monday, pointing out that those two have been too effective to keep off the field. The other side of that coin is that Jordan hasn’t been effective enough to take snaps from them.

Father Time is undefeated. He’s beaten Drew Brees and Jordan’s own father Steve Jordan, who found great success in 13 years with the Minnesota Vikings. Anyone who has watched Jordan play in recent years has known this day was coming. He only had two sacks last season. Jordan had 8.5 sacks the year before but five of them came in two games.

The signs of his decline have been there for those willing to acknowledge them. It’s why the Saints have poured so many resources into defensive end searching for his successor — signing Young in free agency, developing and extending Granderson, and spending high draft picks on guys like Marcus Davenport, Payton Turner, and Isaiah Foskey. It’s just a shame so few of those players have stepped up into the vacuum created by Jordan’s decline.

Between rotating in other players more heavily and moving him inside to defensive tackle occasionally, the Saints are trying to find ways for Jordan to continue helping the team. He’s under contract through 2025 but we’re clearly approaching the end of the line. And whenever Jordan hangs up his cleats to pick up a microphone for a job in the media, we’ll be ready to support his Hall of Fame candidacy.

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Full list of 30 former Broncos nominated for 2025 Hall of Fame class

The Broncos have 30 former players nominated for the 2025 Hall of Fame class, and Mike Shanahan is expected to be a top coach candidate.

Earlier this week, the NFL announced 19 former Denver Broncos players have been nominated for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class as modern-era candidates.

Those 19 players join a previous list of 11 senior candidate nominees who were announced earlier this month, giving the Broncos 30 total players who have been nominated for next year’s Hall of Fame class. Here are the full lists.

Broncos modern-era HOF candidates

  1. WR Rod Smith
  2. C Tom Nalen
  3. K Jason Elam
  4. G Mark Schlereth
  5. LB Bill Romanowski
  6. DL Neil Smith
  7. WR Demaryius Thomas
  8. CB Aqib Talib
  9. WR Wes Welker
  10. RB Clinton Portis
  11. WR Brandon Marshall
  12. RB Glyn Milburn
  13. CB Dré Bly
  14. TE Vernon Davis
  15. DL Jamal Williams
  16. LB Keith Brooking
  17. RB Jamaal Charles
  18. DL Ted Washington
  19. DL Simeon Rice

Broncos senior HOF candidates

  1. LB/DL Karl Mecklenburg
  2. LB Tom Jackson
  3. DB Dennis Smith
  4. WR Lionel Taylor
  5. WR/R Rick Upchurch
  6. CB Louis Wright
  7. WR Bob Scarpitto
  8. DL Michael Dean Perry
  9. RB Sammy Winder
  10. DL Lyle Alzado
  11. DE Rich Jackson

Former Denver coach Mike Shanahan is also expected to be nominated for the 2025 Hall of Fame class in the coach category.

The Hall of Fame’s selection committee will trim the list of nominees in mid-October before announcing semifinalists and finalists later in the fall. The 2025 class will be announced before Super Bowl LVIX next year.

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8 Former Colts among early nominees for 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class

Eight former Colts players were among the early nominees for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

The NFL announced 167 modern-era nominees for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. Among those 167 players were several former Indianapolis Colts.

C Jeff Saturday
S Antoine Bethea
S Bob Sanders
P Pat McAfee
K Mike Vanderjagt
K Adam Vinatieri
DE Robert Mathis
WR Reggie Wayne

Saturday played 13 seasons with the Colts, and during that span, he won a Super Bowl, was a six-time Pro Bowler, and a two-time All-Pro at the center position.

After 10 years in New England, Vinatieri would spend 14 with the Colts. With Indianapolis specifically, Vinatieri made 85.3 percent of his field goal attempts. He was a three-time Pro Bowler and a three-time All-Pro in his career.

Mathis played with the Colts his entire career, from 2003 to 2016, appearing in 192 games. Mathis finished his career with 54 forced fumbles, 108 tackles for loss, 141 quarterback hits and 123 sacks. Mathis was a five time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro.

Wayne, who is currently the Colts receivers coach, would also spend his entire career in Indianapolis where he was a six-time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro. Wayne totaled 14,345 receiving yards in his career with 82 touchdown receptions over 211 games.

The next steps in the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection process include the list of 167 players being reduced to just 50. From there another vote will take place, trimming the list to 25 and then again to 15 where the selection committee will place it’s final votes for who is a part of the 2025 class.

10 Bills greats nominated for Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025

10 Bills greats nominated for Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025

The nominations for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 were announced on social media Wednesday by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Of the 167 players nominated for the HOF, 10 Buffalo Bills players made the list: Larry Centers, Marshawn Lynch, Ruben Brown, Pat Williams, Cornelius Bennett, London Fletcher, Takeo Spikes, Troy Vincent, Gary Anderson, and Brian Moorman.

Some of the names most notably played for other franchises, but all made an impact for the Bills in some way. And, most of them have been nominated for many years without ever reaching football immortality.

Seeing a lot of them get into the HOF would be great, but a few names stand out as some that are more deserving.

Lynch, although he will most likely enter the HOF as a Seattle Seahawks running back, has a real shot to be a first-ballot selection.

Fletcher was selected as a semifinalist for the HOF in 2024, meaning he made it to the top-25 of finalists. The linebacker has not gotten the nod yet. His numbers in his career can be stacked up with just about anyone.

Moorman should get more love from the HOF committee. The punter was one of the best special teams players in the 2000s decade, making the All-Decade team while being a weapon for the Bills at punter. He was also a 1st Team All-Pro.

A couple of fun ones would be Cornelius Bennett and Larry Centers. Bennett was an integral part of the Bills’ defense in the early 90s which went to four consecutive Super Bowls. Centers, although he only played two years in Buffalo, would shine some light on the forgotten fullback position in the NFL. Centers led the Bills in receptions in 2001 with 80.

Here is the full list of the 167 nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025.

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Courtland Sutton says Demaryius Thomas ‘earned and deserves’ Hall of Fame nod

Demaryius Thomas “earned and deserves” a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton said.

The NFL announced 167 modern-era nominees for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class on Wednesday, and late former Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas is among the first-year nominees.

After Wednesday’s practice, Broncos receiver Courtland Sutton said Thomas took him under his wing and was an “amazing example” who helped shape the way that Sutton carries himself now both on and off the field.

“That’s amazing,” Sutton said of Thomas’ Hall of Fame nomination. “I think that it’s something that he earned. If the committee finds it fitting to vote him into the Hall of Fame, I think that will be something that will be an amazing accomplishment for himself, his family [and] this organization.

“He had an amazing career, something that you all know very well, that I admired. The time that we had together, I treasure dearly and hold close in my heart. It’s something that he definitely, like I said, earned and deserves based upon the numbers, and the things, the accolades that he was able to accumulate over his career.”

Thomas and Sutton were teammates for half of Sutton’s rookie season in 2018 before Denver traded Thomas to the Houston Texans.

A five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, Thomas helped the Broncos reach two Super Bowls, winning one title. Thomas died from complications of seizure disorder at age 33 in 2021. He totaled 724 receptions for 9,763 receiving yards and 63 touchdowns during his 10-year career in the NFL.

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9 former Dolphins among 167 preliminary Hall of Fame nominees for 2025

There’s a few former Dolphins hoping to become members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced its preliminary list of modern-era nominees for the Class of 2025 and it includes nine former players for the Miami Dolphins.

The following former Dolphins are are among the 167 initial nominees:

  • RB Ricky Williams
  • WR Irving Fryar
  • WR Brandon Marshall
  • WR Wes Welker
  • OG Josh Sitton
  • OT Richmond Webb
  • LB Brendon Ayanbadejo
  • CB Troy Vincent
  • P Matt Turk

While every player on the list suited up for the Dolphins at some point, a few of the players on the list are much more well remembered for their contributions away from Miami.

Vincent, for instance, was a top 10 draft pick for the Dolphins, but all five of his Pro Bowl nods came during an eight-year stint with the Philadelphia Eagles. Sitton was a stalwart on the Green Bay Packers’ offensive line and joined the Dolphins for a grand total of one game before a rotator cuff injury eventually ended his exceedingly brief tenure in Miami.

The name that will draw much of the attention for Dolphins fans over the next few months is Webb. There’s been a groundswell of support for the seven-time Pro Bowler to get his due as one of the all-time greats.

While he has been an initial nominee several teams, Webb has failed to reach the semifinalist phase of voting. He’s down to his final three years of eligibility before it’ll be up to the senior committee to send him to Canton.

The list of 167 nominees will be trimmed to 25 semifinalists sometime this fall (likely in November) and then 15 finalists (likely in January).

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Rod Smith among 19 former Broncos nominated for Hall of Fame

Rod Smith is one of eight Broncos Super Bowl champions who have been nominated for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has announced 167 modern-era finalists for the 2025 class. The list includes 19 former Denver Broncos players, including eight Super Bowl champions.

Former Broncos wide receiver Rod Smith headlines the list of players who won Super Bowls with Denver in the late 1990s. He is joined by center Tom Nalen, kicker Jason Elam, guard Mark Schlereth, linebacker Bill Romanowski and defensive lineman Neil Smith.

The Broncos also had two members of their Super Bowl 50 squad — late wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and cornerback Aqib Talib — nominated for the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.

Other players nominated include running backs Clinton Portis and Glyn Milburn, receivers Wes Welker and Brandon Marshall and cornerback Dré Bly. View the full list below.

Broncos Hall of Fame nominees

  1. WR Rod Smith
  2. C Tom Nalen
  3. K Jason Elam
  4. G Mark Schlereth
  5. LB Bill Romanowski
  6. DL Neil Smith
  7. WR Demaryius Thomas
  8. CB Aqib Talib
  9. WR Wes Welker
  10. RB Clinton Portis
  11. WR Brandon Marshall
  12. RB Glyn Milburn
  13. CB Dré Bly
  14. TE Vernon Davis
  15. DL Jamal Williams
  16. LB Keith Brooking
  17. RB Jamaal Charles
  18. DL Ted Washington
  19. DL Simeon Rice

The Broncos also have 11 senior candidates for the 2025 class, and former coach Mike Shanahan is expected to be a top candidate in the coach category. Voters will trim the list down to 20 finalists with 15 modern-era candidates, three senior candidates, one coach and one contributor. The selection committee will meet before Super Bowl LVIX to elect the 2025 class.

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Karl Mecklenburg among former Broncos nominated for Hall of Fame

Karl Mecklenburg headlines the list of former Broncos players nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2025 class.

Following the enshrinement of senior candidate Randy Gradishar this year, 11 more Denver Broncos legends are now candidates for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame announced 183 senior nominees for the 2025 class on Tuesday and do-it-all-defender Karl Mecklenburg is joined by linebacker Tom Jackson, safety Dennis Smith, wide receiver Lionel Taylor, returner Rick Upchurch, cornerback Louis Wright, receiver Bob Scarpitto, defensive lineman Michael Dean Perry, running back Sammy Winder, defensive lineman Lyle Alzado and defensive end Rich Jackson on the ballot.

Former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan is also expected to be a candidate once again this year in the coach category. Shanahan’s chances of getting in might be improved now that coach and contributor categories have been separated.

As for senior players, Mecklenburg, Jackson, Smith, Taylor, Upchurch and Wright all have impressive resumes and they are all members of the Broncos Ring of Fame. Because he was a versatile playmaker in Denver’s 3-4 defense, Mecklenberg might have the best chance to get in among the team’s senior candidates.

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Legendary UNC baseball coach Mike Fox announced as 2025 college baseball HOF inductee

Longtime UNC baseball coach Mike Fox will be honored with a College Baseball Hall of Fame induction early in 2025.

Though Scott Forbes has exceeded expectations leading the North Carolina Tar Heels’ baseball program over the past four seasons, their program wouldn’t achieve the same level of success it does today without longtime head coach Mike Fox.

UNC made seven College World Series appearances under Fox, including runner-up finishes to Oregon State in 2006 and 2007. Fox won a whopping 948 games leading North Carolina – and 1,487 overall. That total is ninth-best all-time amongst college baseball coaches.

With all the success Fox experienced in his managerial career, particularly leading the Diamond Heels, it comes as no surprise that Fox will be inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Fox’s induction ceremony will be on Feb. 13, 2025 in Overland Park, Kan, one day before the start of college baseball season.

Fox’s career accolades also include multiple coaching awards, highlighted by being named Baseball America’s 2008 National Coach of the Year and ACC’s 2018 Coach of the Year.

If you remember UNC standouts and future MLB Draft picks Andrew Miller, Dustin Ackley, Colin Moran and Aaron Sabato, who all won numerous Player of the Year awards, Fox coached all of them.

When Fox walks across that stage, he’ll be joined by MLB and college baseball legends Mike Schmidt and Roger Clemens, Mark Texeira, Bill Thom, Jeff King, Murray Wall, Randy Ross, coaches Woody Hunt and Wilbert Ellis, plus umpire Jim Paronto.

It was truly an honor watching Fox lead the Diamond Heels for over two decades. Now, he’ll be getting the greatest post-career honor in college baseball.

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