Browns legend and Ring of Honor inductee Clay Matthews will learn in the next three weeks whether he was voted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. (Fox 8).
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Everyone figured the first Pro Football Hall of Fame selection meeting conducted on Zoom would shave an hour or two off the annual marathon debate usually held in a hotel conference room the day before the Super Bowl.
Everyone was wrong.
When the 18 candidates were thoroughly vetted in what Hall of Fame President David Baker described as “incredibly respectable” discussion, and the votes were finally cast, the meeting adjourned 8 hours, 47 minutes after it started. If that wasn’t a record, it was close.
And the thing about it is, the voters -- 48 strong, including new appointees Tony Dungy, Bill Polian and Lisa Salters – did not know the “winners” of the Induction Class of 2021. Not only that, in a change from past procedure, the selectors did not even know who made it past the cutdown from 10 to five.
This was all because of inconveniences caused by the pandemic. The Hall wants to inform the 2021 inductees as late as possible to the formal announcement on the “NFL Honors” show the night before the Super Bowl in Tampa, FL.
Baker’s engaging “knocks on the door” to inform each new inductee of their selection are complicated by the fact that these inductees won’t be traveling to the Super Bowl this year. So they will be informed by Baker at various days closer to the show on Feb. 6. Everyone wants to keep the new class a secret until then and we selectors are bound by confidentiality rules of protocol.
Thus, the men and women who discussed and argued and debated and voted on the new induction class are in the dark about the results. But leaks inevitably occur.
And the fate of Browns linebacker great Clay Matthews hangs in the balance.
As part of my annual peek inside the Hall of Fame voting room, I always clock the discussion on each candidate. Here are my tabulations, from longest to shortest:
* Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson: 39 minutes, 19 seconds.
The last candidate vetted, Johnson’s presentation led to the dominant discussion of the day – how the recent influx of so-called “first ballot” Hall of Famers is causing a backlog of deserving candidates who’ve been knocking on the door for years. The Hall attaches no significance to being inducted on the first year of eligibility. A candidate has 20 years of modern-era eligibility to be voted to the Hall of Fame and once in, there is no distinction of how many years it took. Except for that candidate’s fans and in some cases, the candidate’s ego (see: Terrell Owens).
* Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Denver Broncos safety John Lynch: 37 minutes, 8 seconds.
This was Lynch’s eighth time as a finalist, raising heated discussion of whether he has been “tortured” through this process.
* Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Tony Boselli: 31 minutes, 54 seconds.
Boselli’s fifth time as a finalist reignited the other hot-button issue: Short career v. long career. Because of an injury, Boselli’s career was limited to 91 games. At the other end of the spectrum, Browns linebacker Clay Matthews played 278 games, and yet it took him 20 years to be advanced as a finalist.
* Pittsburgh Steelers scout and assistant director of personnel Bill Nunn: 30 minutes, 45 seconds.
The first African-American candidate from the contributor category, Nunn was responsible for the Steelers’ epic 1974 draft which produced future Hall of Famers Mel Blount, John Stallworth and Donnie Shell, and other drafts that built the Steelers’ 1970s dynasty. Nunn introduced the NFL to players overlooked in Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This discussion went about 20 minutes too long; Nunn should have been in long ago.
* Dallas Cowboys receiver Drew Pearson: 28 minutes, 26 seconds.
The candidate forwarded by the senior committee – which vets a candidate whose modern-era eligibility has expired – Pearson was the recipient of Roger Staubach’s desperation pass in a 1975 game that came to be known as the first “Hail Mary” pass in NFL annals. Pearson’s qualifications go well beyond that single famous moment, of course.
* Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders coach Tom Flores: 27 minutes, 42 seconds.
The first candidate forwarded under a new category exclusively for coaches, Flores won two Super Bowls. He is possibly more noted for being the first Hispanic starting quarterback in NFL history, and the first Hispanic coach, who happened to win two Super bowl titles.
* Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne: 25 minutes, 16 seconds.
One of three prolific modern-era receivers on the docket, Wayne benefitted from the fact that Dungy, his coach, and Polian, his GM, contributed to the discussion. I will point out that Dungy and Polian also contributed to discussions of other candidates.
* New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers linebacker Sam Mills: 20 minutes, 57 seconds.
A remarkable talent at 5-9 and 229 pounds, Mills started his career in the United States Football League after a recommendation from Browns coach Sam Rutigliano, who recognized Mills’ talent but couldn’t give him a roster spot in the 1981 Browns training camp.
* Browns linebacker Clay Matthews: 20 minutes, 32 seconds.
In my presentation, I sought to explain how Matthews’ versatility and selflessness cost him Pro Bowl honors over an amazing 19-year career – 16 with the Browns. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com and six others contributed to the discussion of why it was imperative to vote in Matthews in his last year of modern eligibility. I felt good that one of the three greatest defensive players in Browns history – behind Hall of Famers Bill Willis and Len Ford -- had received a thorough review of his Hall of Fame-worthy career.
* Green Bay Packer safety LeRoy Butler: 17 minutes, 39 seconds.
The inventor of the “Lambeau Leap,” Butler is one of many safeties getting a deserved vetting after the position was neglected for decades.
* Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers cornerback/safety Charles Woodson: 16 minutes, 32 seconds.
No doubt he is Hall of Fame-worthy. The question was whether he was so extraordinary to knock out a deserving candidate who has been repeatedly denied. Woodson has 19 more years of eligibility.
* Miami Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas: 15 minutes, 54 seconds.
A highly decorated linebacker who defied physical limitations (5-11, 235 pounds) and was a defensive leader on five consecutive Miami playoff teams.
* Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Alan Faneca: 13 minutes, 8 seconds.
Guards might be the most difficult position to articulate a case for. Faneca’s credentials are undeniable. This was his sixth consecutive time as a finalist.
* New England Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour: 12 minutes, 27 seconds.
Arguably the best defensive player on Bill Belichick’s best defensive teams that won three Super Bowl championships.
* St. Louis Rams receiver Torry Holt: 11 minutes, 9 seconds.
The last member of the “Greatest Show on Turf” waiting for immortality. He has waited behind Marshall Faulk, Orlando Pace, Kurt Warner and Isaac Bruce.
* Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Rhonde Barber: 8 minutes, 1 second.
A tremendous cornerback who played 16 years, he suffers from the fact that one Tampa Bay Super Bowl team already spawned Hall of Famers Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and Tony Dungy.
* Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen: 7 minutes, 45 seconds.
His 136 sacks are 12th on the all-time list. Ahead of him, nine are in the Hall of Fame and the other two are good bets to make it.
* Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning: 13 seconds.
This presentation took 10 seconds too long.