I became wary of the Pro Football Hall of Fame process in 2020, when a Hall representative “interrupted” a TV show.
I was half-watching The NFL Today when I saw former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher surprised on the set of CBS’s Sunday NFL pregame show with news he’d been selected to the Hall. The same thing occurred on Fox NFL Sunday, where Jimmy Johnson learned of his selection.
It seemed like the NFL and the Hall were trying to create TV moments with their broadcast partners. Though I have no issue with both coaches in the HOF, I wondered at the time — and certainly now — if Mike Holmgren would have been in long ago if he had a TV career.
Holmgren, 76, is a regular on Seattle radio station KJR but has mostly avoided putting himself out there nationally. He could certainly fill his spare time with commercials and TV gigs but has chosen a lower-key lifestyle since retiring from football. He’s more likely to talk about his grandchildren than Patrick Mahomes.
That shouldn’t matter.
But, maybe it does.
Holmgren is seventh all-time in postseason wins. The top two — Bill Belichick and Holmgren protoge Andy Reid — aren’t yet eligible and will get in soon enough. The next four — Tom Landry, Don Shula, Joe Gibbs and Chuck Noll — have their busts enshired already. Cowher has one less postseason victory than Holmgren’s 12. Recent inductees Tony Dungy and Jimmy Johnson are well back with nine.
Both are TV personalities.
The process to get into the Hall is mysterious, and perhaps flawed. While the world searches for the one voter who left off Ichiro Suzuki for the Baseball Hall, the NFL isn’t exactly a true vote. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame website:
“The Selection Committee meets annually, shortly before the Super Bowl, to elect new members of the Hall of Fame to be enshrined the following summer. There is no set number for any class of enshrinees, but the Committee’s current bylaws stipulate that between four and eight new members could be elected each year.”
Committee meetings lead to groupthink. While there is a vote and 80 percent is needed for selection, a committee means the more powerful voices in the room can grab the reigns and influence the vote of a subjective process. It’s much more than simply reviewing accomplishments and statistics.
Holmgren’s influence goes far beyond his three Super Bowl appearances, including XXXI with the Green Bay Packers in 1996. It’s not just his 161 wins (21st all-time). Holmgren left his mark on the game as the offensive coordinator for Bill Parcells and the 49ers dynasty. His coaching tree includes Andy Reid, who will attempt to win his third straight Super Bowl with Kansas City on Sunday, along with several others who became head coaches.
He’s developed a long list of quarterbacks, including Seahawks Ring of Honor member Matt Hasselbeck, who entered the league as a Green Bay sixth-round draft pick. He turned bust potential players Steve Young and Brett Favre into players with HOF busts.
Holmgren righted two moribund NFL cities and is one of only seven coaches to take two franchises to Super Bowls.
Holmgren arrived in legendary Green Bay in 1992, the Packers had seen the postseason once in 20 years. Holmgren took the Packers to the playoffs six straight years starting in 1993, and Green Bay missed the postseason the two seasons after he departed.
Next up was Seattle. While Holmgren was winning in Green Bay, the Seahawks were a disaster, missing the postseason 10 straight seasons. The team struggled during the 1990s, and owner Ken Behring nearly moved the team to Los Angeles. Paul Allen swooped in and bought the team. He made a big move to hire Holmgren, and the Seahawks then made the playoffs five straight seasons, including the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance.
While Holmgren’s team president stint with the Browns wasn’t great, it shouldn’t overshadow a career that is arguably better than well over half of the coaches in the Hall. He will likely get in someday, but when?
He certainly deserves induction while he’s still in good health. The Hall of Fame changed its process recently, which likely hurt Holmgren’s chances this season — and perhaps next when Bill Belichick will become eligible (assuming he’s not back in the NFL).
Testimonials can be found from many who learned from Holmgren. How a room full of media members could look at Holmgren’s list of accomplishments and hold him out yet again, is beyond me. Like Ichiro, “I would like to invite (them) over to my house, and we’ll have a drink together, and we’ll have a good chat.”
This story originally appeared in seattlesportsnow.com, of which Aaron Coe is a co-founder. Follow Coe on X: @Coe_Aaron
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