
Mike Holmgren arguably should already be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but this might just be his year.
The former Seattle Seahawks head coach is one of 29 semifinalists for the Class of 2023 under the coaches/contributors wing. Holmgren of course won the Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers and returned to the big game the following season. In Seattle he won five division titles and guided the team to its first Super Bowl appearance, which I won’t remind you how it ended. If the result of that game was flipped, Holmgren would’ve been the first (and only) head coach to win Super Bowls with multiple teams, making his HOF candidacy undeniable. Instead, Bill Cowher has the HOF spot and Holmgren has to wait.
This section of the Pro Football Hall of Fame is divided into the seniors and coaches/contributors categories. Seniors players must have played their final game no later than the 1996 season, whereas coaches and contributors obviously don’t have as strict a guideline considering Mike Shanahan was coaching in the 2010s.
Here are the semifinalists in each wing:
Seniors Semifinalists
Ken Anderson
Maxie Baughan
Mark Clayton
Roger Craig
LaVern Dilweg
Randy Gradishar
Lester Hayes
Chris Hinton
Chuck Howley
Cecil Isbell
Joe Jacoby
Billie “White Shoes” Johnson
Mike Kenn
Joe Klecko
Bob Kuechenberg
George Kunz
Jim Marshall
Clay Matthews Jr.
Eddie Meador
Stanley Morgan
Tommy Nobis
Ken Riley
Sterling Sharpe
Otis Taylor
Everson Walls
Coaches/Contributors Semifinalists
K.S. “Bud” Adams Jr.
Roone Arledge
C.O. Brocato
Don Coryell
Otho Davis
Ralph Hay
Mike Holmgren
Frank “Bucko” Kilroy
Eddie Kotal
Robert Kraft
Rich McKay
John McVay
Art Modell
Clint Murchison Jr.
Buddy Parker
Carl Peterson
Dan Reeves
Lee Remmel
Art Rooney Jr.
Marty Schottenheimer
Jerry Seeman
Mike Shanahan
Clark Shaughnessy
Seymour Siwoff
Amy Trask
Jim Tunney
Jack Vainisi
Lloyd Wells
John Wooten
The respective selection committees will dwindle these lists down to 12 and 12 for the final stage of nomination. Up to three seniors will get selected for consideration as members of the Class of 2023, whereas just the one coach or contributor will be up for selection. We’ll know the seniors nominees on August 16th, followed by the coach/contributor nominee on August 23rd.
Let’s go Coach Holmgren!