First-time finalist Tom Flores denied entry to Pro Football Hall of Fame
The wait to get in the Pro Football Hall of Fame continues for former Raiders coach Tom Flores.
The former Sanger High and Fresno City College standout didn’t get the knock on the door from Hall president and CEO David Baker on Saturday.
The eight-man class of 2019 is comprised of players Tony Gonzalez, the record-setting tight end; defensive backs Champ Bailey, Ty Law and Ed Reed; and center Kevin Mawae; senior finalist Johnny Robinson, who helped the Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl IV; and Contributor finalists Pat Bowlen, the Broncos owner, and Gil Brandt, the Dallas Cowboys executive.
Besides Flores, one other coach, Don Coryell, didn’t get in from the list of 15 finalists. Like Flores, Gonzalez, Reed and Bailey were first-year finalists. But Flores, 81, was in his 24th year of eligibility.
Eight-one of the 326 Hall members were enshrined in their first year of eligibility.
Mike Haynes, who played for Flores and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997, didn’t agree with the committee’s decision.
“I can’t believe that he doesn’t have the support of the selection committee,” he said. “He’s definitely in my Hall of Fame.”
All finalists needed 80 percent from the 47 Hall of Fame voters during a meeting Saturday in Atlanta to win enshrinement in Canton, Ohio.
Raiders fans, even Ken Stabler’s daughter, Kendra, took to Twitter to voice their frustration that Flores has to wait another year.
It took the Hall 16 years to welcome Stabler, who was posthumously inducted in 2016.
Other finalists who didn’t make the cut were John Lynch, Steve Atwater, Tony Boselli, Isaac Bruce, Alan Faneca, Steve Hutchinson, Edgerrin James and Richard Seymour.
Flores won 97 games, including an 83-53 run with the Raiders from 1979 to 1987. But he was even better in the postseason, where his 8-3 record for a .727 winning percentage ranks second to Vince Lombardi among those who have coached 10 or more playoff games.
Under Flores, the Raiders became the first wild-card team to win a Super Bowl, beating the Philadelphia Eagles in 1980. They won again under Flores in 1983, holding offensive-minded Washington in check in a 38-9 victory.
His list of accomplishments also include leading the Raiders to winning 11 or more games in a season four times. Flores was named AFC Coach of the Year after leading the team to best record in 1982, and the Raiders won three division titles over a four-year span (1982 AFC in strike-shortened season, 1983 and 1985 AFC Western).
Flores is the first Latino head coach in NFL history, and Flores and Mike Ditka are the only men to have won Super Bowls as a player, assistant and head coach.
Maybe there is hope in 2020.
Normally a Hall class is limited to no more than eight. But Baker told reporters that next year’s class could be increased to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Hall.
This story was originally published February 2, 2019 at 3:21 PM.