After a successful head coaching career that included a .668 winning percentage (148-79), and one Super Bowl appearance (a victory), Tony Dungy was voted into the NFL Hall of Fame. Notable about Dungy is that his induction occurred in 2016.
What makes it extra notable is that it took place four years before Jimmy Johnson’s own enshrinement, and even though Johnson retired after the 1999 NFL season. Dungy retired in 2008.
More interesting is that Johnson had two Super Bowl rings as a head coach versus one for Dungy, and a better overall playoff record. Despite this, Johnson waited twenty years for induction versus eight for Dungy.
Taking this further, it was just announced that Tom Coughlin, Mike Shanahan, George Seifert, and Mike Holmgren just “made the cut” (ESPN) for the voting that will take place for the NFL 2025 Hall of Fame class. That these big names are still waiting raises obvious questions, and for obvious reasons.
Coughlin coached two Super Bowl winners. Some will not unreasonably point to his .537 winning percentage, and even perhaps the not-so-super quality of his two Super Bowl winners to explain why he’s still on the outside looking in. But Mike Shanahan? It’s not just that he won two Super Bowls, it’s that his head-coaching tree (Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, etc.) is arguably unmatched.
Mike Holmgren? Not only does he have a Super Bowl win on his coaching resume, his Green Bay Packers made the game two straight years. Subsequent to his time in Green Bay, Holmgren turned around the Seattle Seahawks, including a trip to the Super Bowl for them. It’s worth adding that Holmgren’s coaching tree includes Andy Reid.
Which brings us to George Seifert. How in any rational world is Seifert still waiting to get in? Seifert head coached the San Francisco ‘49ers to Super Bowl victories in 1990 and 1995. What did Dungy do that Seifert didn’t?
Some will respond that Seifert took over a Super Bowl-winning team from Bill Walsh, but so did Ray Handley. More important is how rare it is for NFL teams to repeat as Super Bowl winners. Seifert took over a winner, then won the Super Bowl in his first year in blowout fashion. Taking it further, Seifert as previously mentioned head coached yet another ‘49ers team to a Super Bowl win in 1994. Two rings, lots of success in the playoffs, but Seifert still awaits enshrinement.
About Seifert’s success over a long stretch, others will point to the talent on the team that included Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronny Lott, John Taylor, etc etc. It’s a fair point, but then lots of teams annually look good on paper without accomplishing much. Furthermore, the argument is blunted when the talent on Dungy’s one Super Bowl winner is considered: Colts players included Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dwight Freeney, Dallas Clark, etc.
Why this opinion piece? The answer is that it’s a rare day or week when race and racism aren’t brought up by actual sportswriters as they write about the odds overcome by black quarterbacks and coaches. The view here is that they overstate their cases, but even if not, it would be easier to take them seriously if they weren’t so situational with their disappointed commentary.
