Junior Seau headlines HOF class
— -- PHOENIX -- Former San Diego Chargers linebacker Junior Seau and Kansas City Chiefs guard Will Shields, both 12-time Pro Bowl selections in their NFL careers, were elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2015.
Seau, in his first year of eligibility, Shields, former Pittsburgh Steelers running back and current ESPN analyst Jerome Bettis, wide receiver Tim Brown and defensive end Charles Haley were the five modern-era enshrinees, selected Saturday in the meeting of the Hall's board of selectors.
The Class of '15 will also include former Minnesota Vikings center Mick Tingelhoff, who played 240 games in his career and was the seniors committee nominee, as well as two nominees in the contributors category -- former Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts general manager and current ESPN analyst Bill Polian, as well as long-time NFL executive Ron Wolf.
The Hall's board of selectors began the day with 15 modern-era finalists, which were trimmed first to 10 finalists and then five in the day-long meeting. A finalist must receive 80 percent of the vote from the 46 selectors to be selected for enshrinement. The class was formally announced during the "NFL Honors" television show inside the Phoenix Symphony Hall. The Class of '15 will be formally enshrined at the Hall of Fame in August.
Seau, who committed suicide May 2, 2012, played 13 seasons with the Chargers three years with the Miami Dolphins and his final four seasons with the New England Patriots. Seau was an eight-time first-team All Pro selection in his career, was the league's Defensive Player of the Year in 1992 and had 64 career games with at least 10 tackles.
This week, as the prepared for Sunday's Super Bowl XLIX, both Patriots coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady remembered Seau fondly.
"It's obviously got to happen," Belichick said. "I can't imagine having a Professional Football Hall of Fame without Junior Seau in it."
"He was a phenomenal player, teammate, friend," Brady said. "His attitude was infectious. He brought enthusiasm every day to practice. He showed up in the room and he'd be the first person there at six in the morning on the treadmill running, going into his 18th year in the league. He had a love for life and he's missed by all of his family and friends, and certainly by me and the guys that had a chance to be around him. He was a special person."
Shields never missed a game in his 14 seasons with the Chiefs and started all but one game of his career.
Haley, who won five Super Bowl rings as a player, was in his 11th year of eligibility, Brown was in his sixth year of eligibility as Bettis was in his fifth year of eligibility.
When Bettis retired following the 2005 season his 13,662 yards rushing were fifth all-time and his eight 1,000-yard seasons were tied for third all-time. Bettis announced the Hall's decision in a series of tweets Saturday night.
Brown was third all-time in catches with 1,094, second all-time in receiving yards (14,934) and tied for third all-time with 100 touchdown receptions at the time of his retirement.
Brown also had 3,320 career punt return yards in his career.
Among the players and coaches who did not make the cut Saturday were kicker Morten Andersen, coach Don Coryell, running back Terrell Davis, coach Tony Dungy, linebacker/defensive end Kevin Greene, wide receiver Marvin Harrison, coach Jimmy Johnson, safety John Lynch, tackle Orlando Pace and Kurt Warner.
Pace and Warner, who both played for the St. Louis Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf," were in the first year of eligibility. Warner guided St. Louis to its only Super Bowl victory after the 1999 season and led the Rams to the title game two years later. He also helped Arizona get to its only Super Bowl after the 2008 season and won league MVP honors in both 1999 and 2001.
Anderson made 40 career field goals of at least 50 yards and is the NFL's all-time leading scorer (2,544 points).
Lynch spent 11 seasons with Tampa Bay and four with Denver, and made nine Pro Bowls. Davis' 142.5 yards rushing per game in the postseason is best in league history and the Denver Broncos won 91.7 percent of their games -- regular season and postseason combined -- when Davis rushed for at least 100 yards as he powered back-to-back Super Bowl winners.
Greene played for four teams and made the Pro Bowl five times. Haley won five Super Bowls -- two with San Francisco and three with Dallas -- the only player to do so.
Coryell's passing game has been oft-imitated through the years, including a version used by Joe Gibbs in his Hall of Fame coaching career, as the Chargers led the NFL in passing yards in six consecutive seasons in Coryell's tenure with the team.
