Is this the year former Raiders coach Tom Flores gets into Hall of Fame? Why he’s guarded
Tom Flores was heartbroken two seasons ago when he didn’t get voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
A trip to Atlanta during Super Bowl weekend almost had the feel that he’d get that knock on the door from Hall president David Baker at the hotel room.
The former Raiders coach was in his room with his wife, Barbara, and other family members.
Nerves were kicking in as time passed. No knock. Nothing.
Flores learned he didn’t get in.
It was time to pack up and head back to his Palm Springs home.
“That was the biggest letdown in my career,” Flores told The Fresno Bee. “All the wind just came out of my sails. We didn’t even stick around for the game. We just came home. There was no way I could enjoy the game after this. Because of that, I’m guarded and we’ll go from there.”
Last season was another letdown for the former Sanger High/Fresno City College/University of the Pacific standout.
Flores, like many others, saw Baker tell Bill Cowher and Jimmy Johnson that they were entering the Hall of Fame during TV coverage of the NFL playoffs. The surprise announcements meant another shoe dropping: Again, no induction for Flores.
Will this be his year?
The Pro Football Hall of Fame 48-member selection committee met virtually Tuesday morning because of the coronavirus pandemic and cast their ballots for the Class of 2021 in a voting process that lasted throughout the day.
Flores needs 80% of the committee’s votes to get in. The class will not be revealed until Feb. 6 during the NFL Honors awards show, airing at 6 p.m. PST on CBS.
That means Flores, 83, will find out in two weeks if he gets in.
“I’m confident and positive,” Flores said. “I’ve got to think positive and excited about it without getting too cocky. Let me put it that way. It hasn’t happened. I came this way several times because I’ve been nominated several times and you get excited to a point only to be let down. I’m positive in a positive way, if that’s possible. If and when it happens, I’ll be really excited and then I’ll have a big sip of Coors.”
Just recently Coors Light put together a commercial promoting Flores’ Hall of Fame credentials.
Among his achievements:
▪ He won 97 games, including an 83-53 run with the Raiders from 1979 to 1987.
▪ He has an 8-3 playoff record and ranks second to Vince Lombardi in winning percentage (.727) among those who have coached 10 or more postseason games.
▪ He won two Super Bowls as a head coach. The Oakland Raiders were the first wild-card team to win the big game, beating the Philadelphia Eagles after the 1980 season. After moving to Los Angeles, they won again after the 1983 campaign, holding offensive-minded Washington in check en route to a 38-9 victory.
▪ He has a 105-90 overall record, including playoffs, with the Raiders and Seattle Seahawks.
▪ He’s the first Latino coach in the NFL and first to win a Super Bowl.
Two Raiders in the Hall this year?
Former Raiders star Charles Woodson could also get in.
Woodson, who played for the Raiders 1998-2005 and 2013-15, was one of 15 modern-era finalists for the Hall of Fame.
With the Raiders, Woodson played 254 games, started 251 and totaled 1,220 tackles and 65 interceptions, with 11 returned for touchdowns. He also had 33 forced fumbles and 18 fumble recoveries.
Woodson also played for the Green Bay Packers from 2006-12 and helped them to a 31-25 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.
This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
