Get the Gold Jackets Ready

In this year's Super Bowl program, there's a cool article about the Pro Football Hall of Fame announcement.  Specifically, it's about how the new Hall of Famers find out they've been elected.  They call it "The Knock."  "The Knock" was started by former Hall of Fame President David Baker, originally at a hotel in the Super Bowl city before moving around the country, with Baker coming to them, during COVID. 

Since Baker's presidency ended in 2022, it's been a Hall of Famer (generally a friend or former teammate) doing the knocking.  The article ends with saying how much everybody loves it!  And it got me thinking about this year's Hall of Fame vote (which obviously takes place sometime in January now, since they need to let everybody know and arrange for them to take the stage at NFL Honors).  Specifically, who'll get the honor of knocking on their door and telling them they're Hall of Famers?

This year, they've changed the voting procedure, too.  There's nothing different for the Modern Era candidates.  The five who make it to the final round will almost certainly be elected.  With the Senior/Coach/Contributor nominees, though, is very different.

The three categories have been combined and will be voted on separately than the Modern Era players.  There are five finalists across the three categories, but only a maximum of three can be elected.  That's a vast difference from prior years, when whoever was chosen as the finalist from each category was almost always voted in.  Obviously, that's not the case anymore. 

If nobody gets 80 percent of the vote (which seems unlikely), then the top vote-getter will be the only one to join the Modern Era Hall of Famers.  So, we'll have anywhere between four and eight men elected.  Although, it seems likely that number will be eight. 

Who will those eight be, though?  Let's start with the combined categories.  Maxie Baughan, Sterling Sharpe and Jim Tyrer were nominated as Seniors, along with Mike Holmgren in the Coach category and Ralph Hay as a contributor.  I think it'll be these three (as well as my guess for who gets to give them the news).

Ralph Hay, Contributor (1918-22 Canton Bulldogs): Patriots fans who really wanted Robert Kraft to be the Contributor Finalist used the argument that "you need to be a football historian to know who Ralph Hay is" against him.  That's exactly why Hay should be in the Hall of Fame.  The initial meeting that led to the creation of the NFL was held in his Canton car dealership (which is why the Hall of Fame is in Canton).  Football is the only sport where the league's founder isn't in the Hall of Fame.  Time to rectify that.  Frankly, he should've been part of the Centennial Class.  (Since Hay passed away in 1944, there's obviously no need for someone to give him the news.)

Mike Holmgren, Coach (1992-98 Packers, 1999-2008 Seahawks): I was a little surprised Mike Holmgren was selected as the Coach Finalist over some of the others under consideration, but he certainly deserves it.  He was the first Packers coach since Vince Lombardi to win the Super Bowl and led Green Bay to six playoff appearances in seven seasons.  Holmgren then went to Seattle and led the Seahawks to their first NFC Championship.  He's one of just seven coaches to take two different teams to the Super Bowl.  (Who better to give him the news than his quarterback in Green Bay, Brett Favre?)

Sterling Sharpe, Wide Receiver (1988-94 Packers): Keeping with the Packers theme, Sterling Sharpe gets the nod as the Senior inductee.  He only played seven years before he was forced to retire with a neck injury.  Sharpe was really good in those seven years, though.  He was like a freight train, man!  Choo choo baby! (If you don't get that reference, look it up on YouTube.)  Sharpe never missed a game in those seven seasons, was a First Team All-Pro three times, and had 18 touchdown catches in his final season.  (His brother, Shannon, is already in the Hall of Fame, so they share that moment as siblings.)

Now, let's move on to the Modern Era Finalists.  It's not a rule that all five who reach the final round will get in, but who are we kidding?  Once they get to that point, it's highly unlikely they won't get in.  And I'm curious to see which direction the voters will go with so many first-ballot guys who look like sure-fire Hall of Famers.  But do you put them in over the players who've been waiting a while?

It was a surprise that Antonio Gates didn't get in as a first-year eligible candidate last year.  He seems like the only lock for selection this time.  The other four are anybody's guess, though.

Antonio Gates, Tight End (2003-18 Chargers): Making Gates wait a year is what got me thinking maybe Eli Manning and Adam Vinatieri might have to wait a year, as well.  I have no doubt Gates will be selected in his second year on the ballot, however, likely as the headliner of this year's class.  He's one of the most prolific receiving tight ends in NFL history and arguably the best undrafted free agent in NFL history.  His 116 touchdowns are the most-ever by a tight end.  (How about Chargers tight end Kellen Winslow letting Chargers tight end Antonio Gates know that they're both Hall of Famers?)

Jared Allen, Defensive End (2004-07 Chiefs, 2008-13 Vikings, 2014-15 Bears, 2015 Panthers): Jared Allen's been eligible for five years and this is his fifth time as a finalist.  I think this may finally be the year he gets in, too.  He was a dominant defensive end for the Chiefs for four years, then was traded to the Vikings and played six dominant years in Minnesota.  In a 12-year career, Allen led the NFL in sacks twice and finished with 136 of them.  (His knock is a tricky one since he doesn't have any Hall of Fame teammates, so how about fellow defensive end and 2024 inductee Julius Peppers, his NFC North rival for so many years?)

Terrell Suggs, Linebacker/Defensive End (2003-18 Ravens, 2019 Cardinals, 2019 Chiefs): That outstanding Ravens defense of the early 2000s is about to get another Hall of Famer.  Terrell Suggs was too good not to be a first-ballot selection!  The Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2003 and Defensive Player of the Year in 2011, he's 12th all-time in sacks and the NFL's career leader in tackles for loss.  Suggs won a Super Bowl in Baltimore and another with Kansas City in his final season.  (One Ravens linebacker welcomes another to the Hall of Fame, Ray Lewis gives him the news.)

Torry Holt, Wide Receiver (1999-2008 Rams, 2009 Jaguars): They need to do something about the wide receiver backlog before Larry Fitzgerald shows up on the ballot and jumps to the front of the line.  Last year, Andre Johnson got in and Torry Holt made it to the second cut, which leads me to believe he's ahead of Reggie Wayne in the voters' minds (even though Wayne would be my choice).  Holt's also been waiting longer, so I think he's more likely to get in than Wayne.  (He and his Hall of Fame quarterback, Kurt Warner, hook up one more time.)

Eli Manning, Quarterback (2004-19 Giants): My final selection was the toughest one.  Because Eli Manning is such a controversial Hall of Fame candidate that I'm really not sure when he'll get in.  My guess is it'll most likely be a while.  I'm going with him, though, because I don't know who else I'd pick over him.  His candidacy is built almost entirely on his postseason success, which is too much to ignore (and will likely result in his eventual induction).  I'm very curious to see what kind of support he gets from the actual voters and if a first-ballot election is even possible.  (If he does get in, there's no other choice, it would obviously be Peyton telling him.)