The Pro Football Hall of Fame
class of 2016 is going to be one of the most star-studded in NFL history. Brett
Favre and Marvin Harrison lead it on the players' side, while venerated coach
Tony Dungy and notorious former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr.
will also be inducted in Canton in August. Favre retired — for the second time
— after the 2011 NFL season as the NFL's record-holder in a variety of passing
categories and as the league's all-time leader in wins. He holds virtually
every passing record in Packers history, and he became the first starting
quarterback to win a playoff game after the age of 40 in his final run with the
Vikings. His election was as much of a given as one can be, and he will be
enshrined in his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility. Harrison retired after
the 2008 season as a model of consistent greatness at the wide receiver
position. He started 15 or more games in 11 of his 13 NFL seasons and is second
all-time to Sterling Sharpe in catches per season — a record he would likely
have broken by a wide margin upon his retirement had injuries not limited him
to five games in 2007. Harrison also holds the NFL's record for catches in a single
season, having hauled in 142 in 2002 and was previously a Hall of Fame finalist
in 2014 and 2015.
Dungy, who oversaw the reign of
Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James and Harrison as "the triplets" in
Indianapolis, led the Indianapolis Colts to their first Super Bowl title since
the franchise was in Baltimore in 2005, then helped them return to the Super
Bowl in 2008. Dungy also built the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into a contender near
the turn of the 21st century, before being unceremoniously jettisoned to make room
for Jon Gruden. Dungy will be the first African-American coach enshrined in the
Hall of Fame. Offensive lineman Orlando Pace gets inducted in his second year
of eligibility. The longtime Rams left tackle is considered one of his
generation's best offensive linemen, alongside Walter Jones and Jonathan Odgen.
Pace spent 14 of his 15 seasons with the Rams after being made the No. 1
overall pick in the 1997 NFL Draft. The final modern-day inductee \ Kevin
Greene finally makes it to Canton in his fifth year on the final ballot. He was
a force of nature on defense during the 1980s and 90s, making the Pro Bowl five
times and being named to the All-1990s Team.
DeBartolo Jr. owned the 49ers for
23 years, and the franchise won five Super Bowls in a 14-year span under his
ownership, as Bill Walsh built a dynasty with Hall of Famers Joe Montana and
Steve Young under center. The late Dick Stanfel and Ken Stabler were the only
Senior Finalists on the ballot, and both men were posthumously voted in this
year. 2016's biggest snub seems to be Terrell Owens, who inspired nearly 45 minutes of discussion
among Hall of Fame selectors on Saturday. Owens addressed his near-miss in a
tweet.
