Road to Canton (via South Florida)

Enshrinement Published on : 10/13/2009

On the day before Super Bowl XLIV in South Florida next February, the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Board of Selectors will meet to hold its annual selection meeting to elect between four and seven individuals who will comprise the Class of 2010. The 44-person committee will debate the merits of 17 final candidates. Two of those finalists are this year’s senior nominees, former Detroit Lions defensive back Dick LeBeau and Denver Broncos running back Floyd Little.

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The other 15 finalists will be selected from the initial list of 131 preliminary modern-era nominees that was announced on September 19. The selection process calls for a reduction to 25 semifinalists in November before the finalists are determined in January.

Between now and Thanksgiving Weekend, Profootballhof.com will profile the groups of players who comprise this list of nominees for the 2010 class.


THIS WEEK:

Contributors, Coaches, & Special Teams


NEXT WEEK:
Defensive Linemen Nominees

PREVIOUS WEEKS:
First-Year Eligibles | QBs

The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s honor roll of enshrinees includes 22 coaches, 18 contributors, and one placekicker. There are multiple individuals among the 131 preliminary nominees for the Class of 2010 who fall in these categories. There’s also Steve Tasker who has been nominated as a special teams player. Tasker starred as a key cog of the Buffalo Bills Super Bowl teams in the early 1990s. Although he has never been a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he’s made the cut down to 25 semifinalists three times (2004, 2008, and 2009).

Special Teams/Wide Receiver

Steve Tasker – 1985-1986 Houston Oilers, 1986-1997 Buffalo Bills

Special Teams Player Nominees for 2010 Election
 
Player Yrs. No. Yds TD No. Yds TD No. Yds. TD No. Yds. TD
Steve Tasker 13 51 779 9 20 130 0 32 335 0 44 910 0
 
Player Yrs. All Pro All Conf Pro Bowls Div. Conf League
Steve Tasker 13 5 7 7 6 4 0


Kicker/Punter Nominees

Class of 1991 enshrinee Jan Stenerud is the only pure placekicker in the Pro Football Hall of Famer. There are no full-time punters who’ve earned election to Canton. The list of Class of 2010 nominees includes two kickers and two punters.

Ray Guy leads the way in the regards to consideration for the Hall of Fame. He has been among the 25 semifinalists each year since that cut down was added to the selection process in 2004. The former Raiders punter also has been a finalist seven times. He made it to the final 15 in 1992, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2007, and 2008.

Kicker Gary Anderson is in his first year of eligibility. Neither Nick Lowery nor Reggie Roby have been semifinalists or finalists in the past.

Gary Anderson (K) – 1982-1994 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1995-1996 Philadelphia Eagles, 1997 San Francisco 49ers, 1998-2002 Minnesota Vikings, 2003-2004 Tennessee Titans

Ray Guy (P) – 1973-1986 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders

Nick Lowery (K) – 1978 New England Patriots, 1980-1993 Kansas City Chiefs, 1994-1996 New York Jets

Reggie Roby (P) – 1983-1992 Miami Dolphins, 1993-1994 Washington Redskins, 1995 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1996-1997 Houston/Tennessee Oilers, 1998 San Francisco 49ers

Punter Nominees for 2010 Election
 
Player Years Punts Yards Avg. Long Blocked All Pro All Conf Pro Bowls Div. Conf. League
Ray Guy 14 1049 44,493 42.4 74 3 6 7 7 7 3 3
Reggie Roby 16 992 42,951 43.3 77 5 2 3 3 4 1 0
 
Placekicker Nominees for 2010 Election
 
Player Years PAT FG Pts Other All Pro All Conf Pro Bowls Div. Conf. League
Gary Anderson 23 820 538 2434 Rushing: 1-3 2 4 4 7 0 0
Nick Lowery 18 562 383 1711 Punting:
4-141, 35.3 avg.
4 2 3 2 0 0


Coaches
Clark Shaughnessy is the only one of the 10 coaches nominated for the Class of 2010 that has been a finalist in the past. He was named to the final 15 three times (1970, 1975 and 1976). Since the semifinalists cut down began in 2004, only Don Coryell of this year’s coaches has made the reduction vote from the preliminary list to the 25 semifinalists. That came in 2005.
 

Bill Arnsparger – 1964-1969 Baltimore Colts, 1970-1973, 1976-1983 Miami Dolphins, 1974-1976 New York Giants

Don Coryell – 1973-1977 St. Louis Cardinals, 1978-1986 San Diego Chargers

Tom Flores – 1979-1987 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, 1992-1994 Seattle Seahawks

Jimmy Johnson – 1989-1993 Dallas Cowboys, 1996-1999 Miami Dolphins

Chuck Knox – 1973-1977 Los Angeles Rams, 1978-1982 Buffalo Bills, 1983-1991 Seattle Seahawks, 1992-1994 Los Angeles Rams

Buddy Parker – 1949 Chicago Cardinals, 1951-1956 Detroit Lions, 1957-1964 Pittsburgh Steelers

A.O. “Bum” Phillips – 1975-1980 Houston Oilers, 1981-1985 New Orleans Saints

Dan Reeves – 1981-1992 Denver Broncos, 1993-1996 New York Giants, 1997-2003 Atlanta Falcons

Buddy Ryan – 1986-1990 Philadelphia Eagles, 1994-1995 Arizona Cardinals

Clark Shaughnessy – 1944-1947 Washington Redskins, 1948-1949 Los Angeles Rams, 1951-1962 Chicago Bears

Coach Preliminary Nominees for 2010 Election
 
Coach Yrs W L T Pct W L Pct W L T Pct
Bill Arnsparger*                          
Career 3 7 28 0 .200 0 0 .000 7 28 0 .200
1974-1976 New York Giants
*Arnsparger was an assistant coach 1964-1973, 1976-1983
                           
 
Coach Yrs W L T Pct W L Pct W L T Pct
Don Coryell
Career 14 111 83 1 .572 3 6 .333 114 89 1 .561
1973-1977 Cardinals   42 27 1 .607 0 2 .000 42 29 1 .590
1978-1986 Chargers   69 56 0 .552 3 4 .429 72 60 0 .545
                           
 
Coach Yrs W L T Pct W L Pct W L T Pct
Tom Flores                          
Career 12 97 87 0 .527 8 3 .727 105 90 0 .538
1979-1987 Raiders   83 53 0 .610 8 3 .727 91 56 0 .619
1992-1994 Seahawks   14 34 0 .292 0 0 0 14 34 0 .292
                           
 
Coach Yrs W L T Pct W L Pct W L T Pct
Jimmy Johnson
Career 9 80 64 0 .556 9 4 .692 89 68 0 .567
1989-1993 Cowboys   44 36 0 .550 7 1 .875 51 37 0 .580
1996-1999 Dolphins   36 28 0 .563 2 3 .400 38 31 0 .551
                           
 
Coach Yrs W L T Pct W L Pct W L T Pct