2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class

Maybe it’s because I’m not that well versed in teams other than the ones I follow, but this seems like a weak class all over. Gates should have been in last year, but the rest are pretty meh to me.

 

Super Bowl wins matter, but they also fog the collective mind. The resumes don't lie.

Coughlin's two Super Bowl winning teams were 10-6 and 9-7. Cool that he pulled it off, but neither of those Giants teams are going down as all-time greats.

He was 20 games over .500 as a NFL coach.

Hell, if you're going to take a two-time Super Bowl-winning coach? Tom Flores did better with the Raiders (.610) than Coughlin (.531) did with the Giants. Flores' overall record is sunk by spending three seasons in Seattle when they were the joke of the NFL.

Holmgren was 50 games over .500 as a NFL coach. He only had three losing seasons in 17 as a head coach. He was way more consistent than Coughlin.

Shanahan was .616, Holmgren was .592, Coughlin was .531.

I would also say the post-1991 Packers were almost as bad as taking over an expansion team like Coughlin did in Jacksonville. They had made some decent draft picks in the late 80s/early 90s, but were basically a scattershot roster of Plan B free agents and castoffs.

Holmgren never had a losing season in Green Bay, and while our minds are clouded in hindsight by Brett Favre's greatness with Holmgren, that scenario was by no means foreseen in 1992. Holmgren was an integral part of the Packers becoming a perennial winner.

 

The 25 semifinalists have been announced. Next step is the final 15

Eric Allen
Jared Allen
Willie Anderson
Anquan Boldin
Jahri Evans
Antonio Gates
James Harrison
Rodney Harrison
Torry Holt
Luke Kuechly
Eli Manning
Robert Mathis
Steve Smith
Terrell Suggs
Fred Taylor
Earl Thomas
Adam Vinatieri
Hines Ward
Ricky Watters
Reggie Wayne
Richmond Webb
Vince Wilfork
Steve Wisniewski
Darren Woodson
Marshal Yanda

 

I was never a fan of Shanahan, mostly due to his association with the Broncos and his stint with the Raiders - but you cannot deny his impact on the league, particularly now, with how many coaches in the league have connections to him.

 

No Kraft for Contributor again, word is Ralph Hay, officially to be announced next month. Will be 84 by the time they pick again next year, it's almost like they want to do it posthumously at this point to instead pick a guy who died during World War II

 

I guess he needs to go back to Orchids of Asia for that happy ending.

 

As exciting as the games are - the politics of the NFL might be even more interesting, Game of Thrones level stuff. Clearly there are people in the league who could jam Kraft in there if they wanted to, but they choose not to. Remember the "Super Class" Goodell put into motion a couple of years ago to get Tagliabue and a few other favored people in? Goodell has been awful quiet this year. Its been a good year for him. We're at Thanksgiving and no huge controversies, player arrests, scandals, lawsuits etc.