The NFL Hall Of Fame System Is Flawed
This post originally debuted at the Cooley Zone
I was at a Super Bowl party at a friend’s house back in Feb. 2004. Joe Jacoby was at the party, and I kinda know Joe from being in the same line of business. So I’m saddled up next to him at the buffet line when I strike up a conversation.
Fatpickle: “Our boy Art got F’d again, huh?”
Joe Jacoby (all 6 foot 6 inches of him, glares down at me and says):
“He’s not the only one.”
I quietly grabbed a few more bacon wrapped scallops and retreated to a quiet place. And I realized, yeah, he’s not the only one. The Redskins had a dynasty from 1982-1991, and until last year only one player was in the Hall of Fame? How about Jacoby, Mosely, Grimm, Bostic, Clark, Mann, and Manley. The HOF system is flawed!
How else can Art Monk be denied 7 times? I don’t need to get into the reasons why Art should have been a first ballot Hall of Famer, anyone who knows anything about football would have voted him in first ballot. The ultimate slap in the face was voting Michael Irvin into the Hall before Monk. I guess when considering a Wide Receiver, pushing off gives you extra points? Is there a special wing in the Hall for offensive pass interference?
The Hall of Fame balloting is like some super secret club. Secret ballots, secret meetings. This much we do know, the wizards behind the curtain are Peter King and Dr. Z. They single handily kept Monk out of the Hall all those years. And with all due respect to Dr. Z, who is recovering from a series of strokes (get well soon), these guys piss me off to no end. What we have is a bunch of sportswriters who have never played football, who are voting players in or out. So, if you blew off Peter King a couple times for an interview 10 years ago, it’s probably going to come back to F you in the long run. However, if you text him inside info, or grab a bite to eat with him, your getting in the Hall. And since I’ve got a sports blog, why can’t I vote? Chris, your good to go since you granted me this interview. If you had blown me off, LJ Smith would be in the Hall before you are!
All of that brings me to Russ Grimm, Mr. Hog. Russ is the one thing left this year for Redskin’s fans to cheer for. He’s a finalist for the Hall of Fame for the 5th consecutive season. He’s also a coach for the Arizona Cardinals, and is a candidate for head coaching positions. He could possibly have the greatest week of his life next week. Hall of Fame on Saturday, Super Bowl win on Sunday, Head Coach on Monday. I’m pulling for you Russ.
Here’s my choices for the NFL Hall of Fame 2009
Shannon Sharpe - He retired with every TE record you could have. That didn’t mean anything for Art Monk, but I hope it does for Shannon. I’m assuming he was one of Chris’s idols?
Bruce Smith - One of the greatest of all-time. Not so much with the Redskins.
Rod Woodson - Simply one of the best ever at the Cornerback position. Also a game changer on special teams.
Chris Carter - Now that Art is in, you can put Carter in. All he does is catch touchdowns. Nope, if he did, he’d have over 1,100!
Russ Grimm - 4 time All-Pro and Pro Bowler. 3 Super Bowl rings. The best offensive lineman for the most well-known offensive line in NFL history. Mr. Hog
Cheers and Hail
Posted by fatpickle Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Categories: Fatpickled, NFL
Tags: hof, hogs, washington redskins
Hall of Fame Player, Hall of Fame Coach?
“Norv Turner ain’t worth a shit, Russ Grimm should be the head coach of the Skins”
Margaret Pearson circa 1995
My late Grandmother told me those words with great confidence. And while she may have been right that Grimm was the best coach the Skins had in 1995 (or 2008), Russ has never risen to the head coach position. In fact, this time of year that normally was the annual “Art Monk gets the shaft for the HOF” time of year, is now the Russ Grimm “gets the shaft for the HOF and head coaching position” time of year. This will mark the 5th consecutive season that Grimm has been interviewed for head coaching positions, and the 4th consecutive season that he has been a finalist for the HOF.
As a player Russ won 3 Super Bowls in his 11 seasons with the Skins. He was elected to the Pro Bowl 4 times, and also was selected All Pro 4 seasons. He played Center, Guard, and Tackle. He was the definition of the “Hogs.” As a coach he has led some of the best offensive lines in the past 15 years. He also added another Super Bowl ring as a coach for the Steelers. He can boast on his resume that he has played or coached 19 seasons under Bill Cowher and Joe Gibbs.
So while Grimm may not be a great interview, or some new offensive genius, he is the epitome of a coach. Just look at the picture above, is that not the picture you would put in the dictionary under football coach?
So I hope that this is the year that Grimm gets his parlay, a HOF ticket and to be the head coach of a NFL franchise. My guess, Russ gets into the Hall of Fame, and passed over again as a coach.
But I hope I’m wrong, and I hope an owner will step up to prove my Nanny right!
Cheers and Hail
Posted by fatpickle Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Categories: Fatpickled, Redskins
Tags: hof, hogs, russ grimm
Boss Hog
I would like to pay my respects to the greatest NFL position coach of all-time, Joe Bugle. For 31 NFL seasons, Buges has been the mark that all other coaches should be measured by. Whether you are a hall of fame coach, or a rookie coach, you know you’ll be better with Buges on your staff.
Buges has been around so long that he coached Romeo Crennel at Western Kentucky 40 years ago! During this time, Buges roomed with a grad assistant by the name of Jerry Glanville in a one bed apartment! After a coin flip, Buges won the bed, forcing Glanville to the floor to sleep on newspapers! I’m laughing at the thought of Jerry sleeping on papers, and leaving Elvis tickets at the W. KTY ticket gate. Buges and Jerry lived off pizza and donuts during this time (who doesn’t) because they had no $$ and had a couple players who worked at the pizza and donut shop. Many nights Buges and Jerry would stay up late drawing up plays on one of the pizza boxes. Maybe 50 gut was a specialty pizza!
Did you know that Buges was the O-line coach for Bum Phillip’s Oilers in the late 70′s? No wonder Earl Campbell had those big holes to run thru! The Oilers defeated the Chargers in the 79 playoffs, a Chargers team who had an O-coordinator by the name of Joe Gibbs.
In 1981 Gibbs and Buges joined forces with the Skins. Soon after, The Hogs were born. Buges took guys that were old, undrafted, and undersized, and made them the meanest, baddest, mfer’s in the league.
When Gibbs came back, the only way it would have felt right was with Buges. We got Buges, and we should never let go. I was worried that Buges would ride off into the sunset with Joe, but we are lucky that he stuck around. Zorn is lucky that he has a guy like Buges to lean on. Buges coaches up the young guys, and stands behind the veterans. He is our rock.
So, for the man that was born 68 years ago in Pittsburgh, PA, lets knock this Steeler’s team in the mouth! Let’s make them bleed! Because I know if Joe could strap on the pads, someone would be bleeding.
Cheers and Hail
Posted by fatpickle Date: Thursday, October 30, 2008
Categories: Fatpickled, Redskins
Tags: bugle, gibbs, hogs, NFL, washington redskins
Talk Soup is Cancelled
Mike Nolan was fired Monday as head coach of the San Fransisco 49ers. Nolan served as Defensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins from 1997-1999. It was during this time that Porkboy and Fatpickle tagged Nolan with the nickname Talk Soup. We thought he bore a tremendous resemblance to the original host of Talk Soup, Greg Kinear. I still enjoy playing the “he looks like someone famous game”, its always fun. But lets focus on another NFL firing. Until the past couple of weeks I have never liked the idea of firing a NFL coach in the middle of the season. Although the NFL season is long in the sense of time, there is only 16 regular season games. It seems crazy to fire a coach a quarter of the way thru the season. Especially when a head coach has put his system in place, gone thru OTA’s, training camp, and preseason. It seems as though things have to be dire straights, or severe rock bottom to make such a move. But, the Rams are 2-0 with wins on the road against the Skins and Cowboys, since firing Scott Linehan. Even the Raiders came up with a spirited win this weekend against the Jets, making the cable guy 1-1.
Which brings me to the hiring of Mike Singletary. I love this move! I know Singletary has never been a coordinator, but he is a leader. If intensity and motivation are what the 49er’s are looking for, he will bring it. Singletary has interviewed several times for coaching vacancies, and was always passed over. I hope indeed that he was a serious candidate for these positions, that he was not just brought in as a product of the Rooney rule.
Singletary now has 9 games to show the 49er’s that he should be the head coach, and I think he succeeds. He’s playing in a weak division, and he has good coaches in place. All he needs to do is light a fire, and I think he can do that with his stare alone. The 49er’s have a bye and 3 divisional games in the next month. Seattle and St. Louis at home, and Arizona on the road. If they do well over the next 4 weeks, they are right back in the division hunt.
We still have 2 more firings that could happen before season’s end. Rod Marinelli in Detroit, and Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati. Marinelli is most likely to go, his team is pitiful and the new GM will probably want to choose another head coach. Lewis should be fired with the Bengals bye week coming up. However, Mike Brown is a notorious tight wad, and probably can’t handle paying Lewis to sit at home for the rest of the season.
One things for sure, with all the openings that are going to be available for head coaching positions in the NFL this year, it’s time to get Russ Grimm a job. He too has been passed over many times, and has the knock of never being a coordinator. But he is a Super Bowl Champion and a Hall of Fame caliber player. He will be a successful head coach if given the chance.
Cheers and Hail!
Posted by fatpickle Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Categories: Fatpickled, NFL
Tags: firings, head coaches, hogs, NFL, singletary
