The number of people who don’t believe former 49ers running back Frank Gore belongs in the Hall of Fame is dwindling. Former 49ers running back and running backs coach Tom Rathman believes the people remaining in that camp don’t know anything about football.
Rathman on Wednesday joined Joe, Lo and Dibs on 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and had a blunt response for the segment of fans who believe Gore’s credentials don’t count because of his longevity.
“Those are guys that don’t know anything about football,” Rathman said. “I mean, people that think that way, those are people that don’t have a clue what football’s all about. But I don’t think there’s any question that Frank Gore is going into the Hall of Fame. There’s no question. Anyone who plays as long as he has, and has done what he’s done in the league year after year, he keeps doing it playing at high levels — and he’s still playing at a high level, ya know at this age.”
There aren’t many people in the NFL as familiar with Gore as Rathman is. Now with the Indianapolis Colts, was Gore’s running backs coach from 2009-14 when they were both with the 49ers. He had an up-close look at Gore on a day-in, day-out basis and says he remains in contact with the now-Jets running back.
Rathman’s credentials speak for themselves. He was a fullback for the 49ers during their heyday from 1986-93. He was part of two Super Bowl winners in that span and went on to an eight-year career. Rathman joined the NFL coaching ranks with the 49ers in 1997, and bounced around to the Lions and Raiders before landing back in San Francisco in 2009. He left in 2016 and joined the Colts in 2018.
The former fullback and two-time Super Bowl champ has been around a lot of Hall of Famers during his time in the NFL, and he’s certain Gore belongs in Canton.
“I think that’s crazy,” Rathman said. “I mean, there may be people that say that just to get it in their conversation. Because you have to evaluate each player and give the pros and the cons. Yeah there are gonna be pros. Yeah there are gonna be cons. But, I mean, obviously the pros are gonna outweigh the cons, so when you come down to it you have to make a decision and I don’t think there’s any question what decision will be made.”
Gore is third on the all-time rushing list and will get a chance to distance himself further from Barry Sanders at No. 4 on the list in 2020 during his 15th NFL season.