Road to Canton (via South Florida)
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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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 | |||||||||||||
Receiving | Rushing | Punt Returns | Kickoff Returns | ||||||||||
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 |
Honors | Championship | ||||||
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 | ||||||||||||
Statistics | Honors | Championship Teams | ||||||||||
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 | ||||||||||||
Statistics | Honors | Championship Teams | ||||||||||
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 | |||||||||||||
Regular Season | Post-Season | Overall | |||||||||||
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 | |||||||||||||
Regular Season | Post-Season | Overall | |||||||||||
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 | ||
Regular Season | Post-Season | Overall | |||||||||||
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 | ||
Regular Season | Post-Season | Overall | |||||||||||
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 | ||
Regular Season | Post-Season | Overall | |||||||||||
Coach | Yrs | W | L | T | Pct | W | L | Pct | W | L | T | Pct | |
The NFL’s largest trade
Twenty years ago, on October 13, 1989, the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings were involved in a blockbuster deal that remains the largest trade ever made in National Football League history.
Mr. Cowboy
Durable, dedicated and devastating throughout his 14 seasons from 1961 through 1974, Bob Lilly became popularly known as "Mr. Cowboy," the perfect player on a club that rose quickly from stumbling expansion team status to become the scourge of the NFL.