The Pro Football Hall of Fame has named nine Coaching Semi-Finalists, which has been reduced from a group of 12 that was previously cut down from a group of 14.
This Pro Football Hall of Fame Coaches Committee will meet virtually on November 19, putting forth one Finalist for the Full Selection Committee.
The Semi-Finalists are:
Bill Arnsberger. Arnsberger is one of the most heralded defensive minds in NFL history, first working for the Baltimore Colts (1964-69) where his defense brought the Colts to Super Bowl III. He would join his Cots Coach, Don Shula, to Miami, where his “No-Name Defense” led the Dolphins to back-to-back Super Bowl wins. He took a shot as a Head Coach with the New York Giants, but after that failed, he returned to Shula and built up another potent defense (The Killer B’s) that won another AFC Title. Afterward, he went to LSU, then Florida, and returned to the NFL with the San Diego Chargers, where again, as the Defensive Coordinator, he helped the Bolts make their first Super Bowl.
Tom Coughlin: Coughlin worked his way up the ranks and became the Head Coach of the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars in 1995. He was their Head Coach for eight years, bringing them to two AFC Championship Games, the first of which was in the franchise’s second year. After being fired, he joined the New York Giants, where the stoic leader led the G-Men to two Super Bowl wins (XLII & XLVI). He retired with an overall record of 170-150 and is already a member of the New York Giants Ring of Honor and Pride of the Jaguars.
Mike Holmgren. Holmgren won two Super Bowls with San Francisco, first as a Quarterbacks Coach and then as their Offensive Coordinator, and it propelled him to the Head Coaching job at Green Bay in 1992. He led the Packers to a Super Bowl win at SBXXXI. Holmgren accepted the Seattle Seahawks coaching job and took them to a Super Bowl appearance in 2005. A member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame and Seattle Seahawks Ring of Honor, Holmgren had a career record of 161-111.
Chuck Knox: An Offensive Line Coach with the New York Jets (1963-66) and for Detroit (1967-72), Knox was elevated to the Head Coach for the Los Angeles Rams in 1973, where he won the AP Coach of the Year as a rookie. He later coached Buffalo (1978-82) and Seattle (1983-91), where he won Coach of the Year Awards for both clubs, and he concluded his career three years back for the Rams. He had an overall record of 186-147.
Dan Reeves. Reeves won a Super Bowl as an Assistant Coach in Dallas and was hired by Denver as their Head Coach in 1981. He led the Broncos to three AFC Titles but could not punch their ticket into a Super Bowl win. After he was let go by Denver, he signed with the Giants and won the 1993 AP Coach of the Year. Later, he took over as Atlanta’s Head Coach, leading them to their first Super Bowl appearance, a loss to his former team (Denver), though he did win his second Coach of the Year. He had an overall record of 190-165-2 and is a Broncos Ring of Honor member.
Marty Schottenheimer. Working his way through the Giants and Lions as the Linebackers Coach, Schottenheimer landed the Defensive Coordinator job in Cleveland in 1980 and was promoted to their Head Coach in 1984. He brought Cleveland to the AFC Finals twice but left for Kansas City in 1989 with another (unsuccessful) trip to the AFC Championship Game (1993). Schottenheimer took some time off and was lured back by Washington, but that lasted only one year. He returned for the San Diego Chargers the season after, where he twice took them to the playoffs. He had an overall record of 200-126-1 and is a member of the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame.
George Seifert. Seifert joined the San Francisco 49ers as their Defensive Backs Coach in 1980 and was elevated to Defensive Coordinator in 1983. He won three Super Bowls as an assistant, and in 1989, he was again promoted to Head Coach. Here, he led the Niners to two more Super Bowl wins and to five NFC Championships Games overall. He concluded his career with three years as Carolina’s Head Coach and had an overall record of 114-62.
Mika Shanahan. Shanahan joined Denver as their Wide Receivers Coach in 1984, and a year later, he began a three-year stint as their Offensive Coordinator, where he caught the eye of Raiders owner Al Davis, who hired him to replace Tom Flores. That did not last long, and he was back in Denver but was let go due to a dispute between Quarterback John Elway and Dan Reeves. He went to San Francisco, where he won Super Bowl XXIX as their Offensive Coordinator, and he returned to Denver again in 1995, this time on a 14-year run where he took the Broncos to their first two Super Bowl wins (XXXII & XXXIII). He finished his career with three years at Washington and had an overall record of 170-138. He is also a member of the Broncos Ring of Fame.
Clark Shaughnessy. Arguably one of the first great Assistant Coaches in NFL history, Shaughnessy was a very successful college coach (150-117-17) and became the Washington Redskins Advisor in 1944. He later was the Head Coach for the Rams for two years and served as Chicago’s Defensive Coordinator from 1951 to 1962.
Jeff Fisher, Alex Gibbs, and Richie Petitbon were eliminated.
We congratulate the candidates who have made it to this stage.
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