This week, the NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced 15 new members of the PFHOF, the 2020 Centennial Hall of Fame Class. There is a backlog of qualified candidates, so the Centennial class was a good idea. The selection committee included many qualified and knowledgeable voters: coaches Bill Belichick and John Madden; Hall of Fame players with excellent coaching or executive credentials, Dick LeBeau and Ozzie Newsome; executives Gil Brandt, Joel Bussert, Carl Peterson, Bill Polian, and Ron Wolf; historians Joe Horrigan and Chris Willis; and journalists Jarrett Bell, John Clayton, Frank Cooney, John Czarnecki, Rick Gosselin, Elliot Harrison, Ira Kaufman, Jeff Legwold, John McClain, Gary Myers, Sal Paolantonio, Dan Pompei, Charean Williams, and Barry Wilner. I wish they had more people directly involved with the league, and fewer journalists, but I understand why they shaped the committee the way they did, and it was essentially a good panel.

The results of the voting, unfortunately, do not reflect that.

The selections included:

• Two head coaches: Bill Cowher and Jimmy Johnson.
• Three contributors: Steve Sabol, Paul Tagliabue, and George Young.
• 10 players: WR Harold Carmichael, OT Jim Covert, S Bobby Dillon, S Cliff Harris, S Donnie Shell, OT Winston Hill, DT Alex Karras, T Duke Slater, WR Mac Speedie, and DE Ed Sprinkle.

Let’s start with the good:

Contributors

NFL Films President Steve Sabol is the best selection among all 15 new inductees. The league produced a nice tribute that I’d encourage you to watch, but it’s difficult to capture the impact of NFL Films, and of Steve Sabol in particular. I’ve loved football since I was a kid, going to games with my grandfather at a worn-down stadium that shook when the fans were excited. In all my years watching the sport, probably no single player contributed as much to my enjoyment of football as Steve Sabol did.

For nearly six decades, NFL Films has preserved the past, captured the present, and anticipated the future. It is and has been a ground-breaking organization, and Sabol was the most important sports filmmaker of all time — in any sport. He won Emmy Awards in five categories, the most of anyone in television history: cinematography, editing, writing, directing, and producing. He received a Lifetime Achievement Emmy for “revolutionizing the way America watches football and setting the standard in sports filmmaking.” The NFL Network video tribute notes that Sabol “transformed NFL Films from simple chroniclers of the game to epic myth-makers,” and that’s not just purple prose, it’s true. Sabol was the driving force behind how we watch and appreciate football today, and one of the greatest people ever associated with the league. If you’re looking for a silver lining in this massively disappointing class of new HOF inductions, Sabol’s inclusion might be it.

Paul Tagliabue was an effective commissioner, who expanded the league, grew its popularity, maintained labor peace, avoided the steroid controversies that plagued baseball, and maintained a civil relationship with players, which his successor has failed to repeat. Tags anticipated sports leagues’ modern social responsibility, and made the NFL a trailblazer in that area, most notably by moving the Super Bowl from Arizona when the state refused to recognize Martin Luther King Day. Today, that is widely seen as an instance of inspired leadership, the right thing to do and a sign of unity with his players, many of whom considered King a hero. Tagliabue was passed over as a Hall of Fame finalist three years ago, reportedly because of his mishandling of the league’s developing CTE crisis, but I believe the positive aspects of his tenure merit Hall of Fame induction. He looks particularly good in comparison with his soulless successor Roger Goodell, who seeks P.R. solutions instead of practical solutions and who seems to believe that leadership consists of issuing punishments. ^[1]I imagine Chase would like me to clarify that this characterization of Goodell is my own, and does not represent the opinion of Football Perspective, or whatever the appropriate legalese is. If … Continue reading I do worry that Tagliabue’s enshrinement could lead voters to believe they’re supposed to elect all the league’s commissioners, which I vehemently oppose.

George Young has been a Hall of Fame candidate for two decades. A five-time NFL Executive of the Year, Young began his pro football tenure as a scout with the Baltimore Colts two years before they won Super Bowl V. He also served as the team’s offensive line coach, director of player personnel, and offensive coordinator, before moving on to the Miami Dolphins in a personnel capacity. Young is most renowned, however, as general manager of the New York Giants from 1979-97. Young’s first-round draft picks as GM from 1979-90 were: Super Bowl XXI MVP Phil Simms, three-time Pro Bowl CB Mark Haynes, Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor, RB/KR Butch Woolfolk, Pro Bowl safety Terry Kinard, All-Pro LB Carl Banks, a RB/KR bust named George Adams, two-time Super Bowl champion Eric Dorsey, Super Bowl XXV starters Mark Ingram (1987) and Eric Moore (1988), nine-year veteran Brian Williams, and five-time 1,000-yard rusher Rodney Hampton. If you pay attention to the NFL Draft, you know how extraordinary it is to go over a decade with only one real bust.

Those are only the first-round picks. Young also drafted Mark Bavaro, Michael Strahan, and Tiki Barber, among many other successes. Furthermore, Young helped to assemble one of the greatest coaching staffs of all time, the 1981-82 Giants, with Ray Perkins, Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, and Romeo Crennel. The head coaches Young hired in New York were: Perkins, Parcells, Ray Handley, Dan Reeves, and Jim Fassel. Perkins was undistinguished apart from his exceptional taste in assistants, and Handley washed out as an NFL HC. But Parcells is a Hall of Famer, Reeves was a Centennial Class finalist, and Fassel led the Giants to Super Bowl XXXV. George Young is a worthy addition to Canton’s Hall of Fame.

While Sabol is the gem, all three contributor selections are fine choices. I would have preferred Seymour Siwoff, chief executive of the Elias Sports Bureau, to Tagliabue, but the selection committee did well here.

Moving on to the bad:

Players

I’ve written at some length about Harold Carmichael. Four years ago, I called him the best possession receiver of the ’70s. He was a consistently good player more than a great one, and he ranked among the top 10 in receiving yardage only twice in a 14-year career. He’s not a terrible choice out of context, but it’s really hard to justify his selection the same year we’re likely to see Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, and Reggie Wayne passed over as HOF finalists. I’d rate all three of them ahead of Carmichael. That’s before we get into egregious WR snubs like Billy Howton, Harold Jackson (a Carmichael contemporary), and Henry Ellard. Carmichael’s selection over Jackson, who wasn’t even a Centennial Class finalist, is particularly baffling.

Jim Covert was an excellent offensive tackle with a short career, only eight seasons (1983-90) and 111 regular-season games. He was the best o-lineman of the Bears’ 1980s mini-dynasty, and helped Walter Payton sustain big rushing stats into his 30s. Like Carmichael, though, Covert is a puzzling selection compared to contemporaries like Mike Kenn (1978-94) and Joe Jacoby (1981-93). Both had substantially longer careers than Covert, and both were more impactful at their peaks. Jacoby, a three-time HOF finalist (Covert had never previously been a finalist) who has a similar quality-not-quantity argument, makes for an especially stark contrast. One of the big knocks on Jacoby was that he only made four Pro Bowls, which is low for a Hall of Fame lineman. But Covert only made two Pro Bowls. Jacoby was a consensus All-Pro in 1983, and pretty nearly again in 1984. Covert was a consensus All-Pro in 1985, and pretty nearly again in 1986. They both received All-Pro recognition from NEA in 1987, Jacoby first-team and Covert second-team, and both were All-Conference in other years, Jacoby twice and Covert once.

Furthermore, I think everyone agrees that Jacoby’s peak was higher than Covert’s. In his 1984 book The New Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football, Paul Zimmerman (Sports Illustrated’s legendary Dr. Z) “polled 25 NFL old-timers and asked them to name their candidates for ‘best ever’ offensive linemen, and these are the ones that kept coming up,” a list that begins with Jim Parker (the first pure offensive lineman inducted into the PFHOF) and continues through history to first-ballot Hall of Famer Jim Otto, before concluding with three-year veteran Joe Jacoby, “the heir apparent.” Anyone who watched football in the 1980s remembers John Madden raving about Jacoby. In his own book, All Madden, the Hall of Fame coach and broadcaster — and Centennial Class voter — named his all-time All-Madden team. The offensive linemen were, in order: Jacoby, Jackie Slater, Anthony Muñoz, Jay Hilgenberg, Nate Newton, and Russ Grimm. Several chapters later, Madden singles out Covert’s teammate Hilgenberg — himself a seven-time Pro Bowl center, and two-time consensus All-Pro — for praise, with no mention of Covert. In the book, Madden specifically writes that Jacoby “should be in the Hall of Fame some day.”

Jacoby made more Pro Bowls and more All-Pro teams than Covert, started in four Super Bowls to Covert’s one, and played 50% longer. There’s no objective argument that favors Covert, and I’m not sure there’s a credible subjective one, either: Jacoby was a legend in his own time. Covert was just a real good player. I don’t think Covert was a bad HOF choice exactly, but he wasn’t a strong one, and that’s pretty easy to highlight by comparison to other great linemen.

One-eyed Bobby Dillon played for the Packers from 1952-59, during the lull between the Don Hutson and Vince Lombardi dynasties. During his eight-season career, Green Bay went 33-61-2 (.351) with no playoff appearances. Dillon, however, was a star, a consensus All-Pro in 1955, ’57, and ’58. He was fast, and he played close to his man. In just eight seasons, he collected 52 interceptions, returned for 976 yards and 5 touchdowns. He had over 100 INT return yards in all but his first and last seasons, and he led the league in 1956. Dillon was a great player. I’m not a big fan of continuing to enshrine borderline HOFers from the black-and-white-film era, when the league was only 12 ^[2]Chase note: The three All-Decade choices for safety in the 1950s were already in the Hall of Fame. teams, but Dillon was one of the stronger selections in the Centennial class. He died last August, which probably generated some sentimental votes on his behalf.

Now we get to a player I’ve advocated for in the past: Cliff Harris. A Dr. Z favorite — he chose Harris as the “killer” free safety on his All-Century team — Harris was a punishing hitter, one of the league’s best tacklers. He was also good in coverage, an effective slot corner when called upon. He played in five Super Bowls in his 10-season career.

I understand why it took so long for Harris to gain HOF recognition. Defensive backs are judged by interceptions, Pro Bowl selections, and Associated Press All-Pro honors. Harris only played 10 seasons, and he was a hitter, not a ballhawk, so his career interception total is low (29). It took the public, and especially the Associated Press, a while to catch on to Harris, so his postseason honors (5 Pro Bowls, 3 first-team All-Pro) merely suggest a borderline Hall of Famer. The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) All-Pro team, voted upon by players, named Harris twice before AP took notice of him. He’s underrated by the traditional criteria, but he was a devastating player.

The Jets’ Winston Hill was an eight-time All-Star in the AFL and NFL. He was the best offensive lineman, and other than Joe Namath and Don Maynard, the greatest standout, of the only period of consistent success in team history. Hill was never a first-team All-Pro, but he received some form of All-League recognition six times in his long career (15 seasons, 198 games). I don’t think anyone believes Hill was ever the best offensive tackle in football, but he was very good for a long time, and he’s been floated as an HOF snub for many years. I see him more as Hall of the Very Good than Hall of Fame, but the selection committee could have done worse. Hill died in 2016. I wish more of the Centennial selections had lived to see their inductions; eight of the 15 are deceased.

Probably the best player chosen by the Centennial panel was Detroit Lions DT Alex Karras. An Outland Trophy winner at Iowa, Karras was undersized, but quick and intelligent. He was sound against the run, and a superior pass rusher. An All-Pro every year from 1960-62, Karras was suspended for gambling in 1963. He returned to make All-NFL again every year from 1964-69, including a consensus selection in 1965. He was a successful actor after his playing career, which may have delayed his HOF induction, as the voters sometimes resent publicity, especially the variety perceived as less respectable. Karras was a loose cannon, an actor and pro wrestler who made impolitic public statements, and combined with the gambling suspension, that kept him out of Canton for many years. Purely on the basis of his play, he probably should have been inducted decades ago.

I wrote recently about the disproportionate honors showered upon members of Pittsburgh’s Steel Curtain dynasty, but I also wrote in 2018, of Steeler receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, “I’d trade both receivers to get Donnie Shell inducted.” Shell played for 14 seasons, over 200 games, made five Pro Bowls, and retired with 51 interceptions. As a point of comparison, fellow strong safety Troy Polamalu retired with 32 interceptions. Shell was a true strong safety, a serious hitter and a plus run defender in addition to his ballhawking skills. And of course, Shell won four Super Bowl rings.

Duke Slater is the oldest player selected by the Centennial committee, playing tackle from 1922-31 for the Chicago Cardinals and two teams that shut down before Slater retired. Here’s how Jim J. Campbell introduced Slater’s career, for a profile in Total Football II:

In the pioneering days of the NFL, there were a handful of African-American players. They seldom played more than a few years, and there were seldom more than two per team. Given that, Fred (Duke) Slater’s career was noteworthy on two counts. None of the early black players played as long as Slater (10 years) and none surpassed his level of performance.

Slater, who graduated from law school during his playing career and became a judge afterward, was named All-Pro seven times. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen film of Slater, but he was highly regarded despite racial prejudice during, and for many years after, his career. He’s been mentioned as a Hall of Fame snub for decades. I’ve written a number of times that I believe there are too many really old players in the Hall of Fame, and I’m not sympathetic to the arguments on behalf of Pre-Modern two-way players. The exceptions are Slater and Green Bay Packers end LaVern Dilweg, who was also considered by the Centennial committee. I’m surprised Dilweg didn’t make it.

I wrote at length about Mac Speedie for my series on the greatest wide receivers of all time. If you’re interested in Speedie, I’d encourage you to read his profile in that series. With respect to the Hall of Fame, the argument is simple, and necessarily compares Speedie to his teammate and fellow receiver Dante Lavelli, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1975. His advocates point out that Speedie compares favorably to Lavelli, while his detractors cite his short career in the NFL. For years, I fell into the first camp. Lavelli is in the Hall, and Speedie was even better than Lavelli, so he should be in, too. But is Lavelli deserving? To me, they’re both borderline candidates. Lavelli’s in, and I don’t have a problem with that, and Speedie was out, and that seemed reasonable, too. But Speedie was better than Lavelli.

Ultimately, this is another case of a borderline Hall of Famer chosen for the Centennial class. It’s not that these guys are bad choices, for the most part. Speedie is a reasonable selection, I believe. He was a standout player on the greatest dynasty of all time, a team that probably deserved more Hall of Fame recognition, plus his election is a positive step toward acknowledgement of the AAFC, which was absolutely, unquestionably a major league. But I don’t believe that his induction should have been a priority; the Centennial Hall of Fame Class was commissioned to correct longstanding oversights, to right the wrongs of the past. There are some really egregious snubs out there, especially among receivers, and Speedie wasn’t at the top of that list. To the extent I’m critiquing most of these selections, it’s in comparison to alternatives who were passed over.

Finally, Ed Sprinkle, The Claw. Despite Collier’s magazine naming him “The Meanest Man in Pro Football,” Sprinkle was not regarded as a dirty player — though his nickname was earned partly by ripping off opponents’ helmets. One of the first great pass rushers, Sprinkle played end for the Bears from 1944-55. He was not an offensive standout, which limited his All-Pro recognition in the two-way 1940s, but he was a perennial selection once separate offensive and defensive selections became the norm in the ’50s. Sprinkle is another borderline Hall of Famer. If I had sole discretion over who was in and who was out, I would have him in. For the Centennial class, there are other players I would have prioritized.

Among the 10 players chosen, I rate Harris, Karras, Shell, and Slater most highly. Dillon, Speedie, and Sprinkle were fine selections as well. That leaves Carmichael, Covert, and Hill. Hill is my favorite of the three, and Carmichael my least. None of them are disgraces to Canton, but I would be willing to argue that Covert and Carmichael are the worst players at their respective positions in the Hall of Fame.

In keeping with an oft-used a classic trope, we proceed from the good (Contributors) to the bad (Players) to the ugly:

Coaches

If you’re interested in learning more about my perspective on what makes coaches great, I’d encourage you to check out my 2012 ranking of the greatest coaches in NFL history. Obviously it’s outdated now, but the only major changes are Bill Belichick, whom I believe now should be ranked as the greatest coach in history, or second to Paul Brown if you place a heavy emphasis on innovation and lasting contributions to the game, and Andy Reid, who would be on the Honorable Mention list. The impressions you’ll find in that article are mostly the same way I feel today. If you prefer not to follow the link, it may be helpful to know that I heavily value lasting contributions, in the forms of both strategic innovation and coaching trees. To me, part of being a great coach is forcing other coaches to imitate you, and part of being a great coach is surrounding yourself with talented assistants, and/or teaching your assistants to be great coaches.

Bill Cowher was a consistently successful head coach. He had 11 winning seasons in 15 years, and never finished worse than 6-10. He led teams to the Super Bowl a decade apart, and won Super Bowl XL. Cowher ranks 20th all-time in head coaching wins, and his .623 winning percentage (149-90-1) ranks 6th among the top 20, trailing only Bill Belichick, George Halas, Don Shula, Paul Brown, and Curly Lambeau. I don’t like Bill Cowher on the CBS pregame show, but when he was with the Steelers I always felt like he was a coach I’d want to play for.

I don’t think Cowher was an urgent selection to the Hall of Fame; I prefer fellow Centennial finalist Don Coryell, as well as Marty Schottenheimer and George Seifert, and a number of modestly successful head coaches with hugely significant assistant coaching careers. But I think the feeling after the Steelers won Super Bowl XL was that Cowher had cemented his Hall of Fame credentials. He certainly has one of the less impressive résumés in the HOF, but I don’t think he’s an outrageous choice.

I do think Jimmy Johnson was an outrageous choice. Wade Phillips won more games as head coach than Jimmy Johnson, with a better winning percentage. And Phillips, unlike Johnson, also has three decades as a successful assistant coach. I’m willing to argue that Phillips is more worthy of Canton than Johnson is. I know Jimmy won two Super Bowls as head coach with the 1990s Dallas Cowboys, but Barry Switzer won with that team, too. Jimmy developed the team, and he deserves credit for that, but he also got out when the getting was good. Johnson facilitated a careless culture, failing to rein in the excesses of players like Michael Irvin and Erik Williams, and if we’re going to credit him for building the team, I think we also need to assign him some responsibility for its disintegration. Three Super Bowls notwithstanding, the ’90s Cowboys were not a great dynasty; they only had 5-6 good seasons, and the party school atmosphere that Johnson brought from Miami to Dallas was part of the reason.

Johnson was an excellent talent evaluator, but he wasn’t a great innovator, and he didn’t produce a great coaching tree. He made an excellent hire at offensive coordinator with Norv Turner ^[3]Turner also won almost 50% more games as a head coach than Johnson did but his lasting contributions to the sport are pretty sparse. I don’t think every great coach needs to shape the future of the game, but every coach in the era of the 16-game schedule who has fewer than 100 wins and a winning percentage of barely .550 does.

There are half a dozen HOF-eligible coaches who won more than twice as many games as Johnson and aren’t in. Compare Jimmy Johnson to his contemporary Mike Holmgren, who took two different teams to the Super Bowl and once had a coaching tree that made up a quarter of the league. Johnson won 80 games, with a .556 winning percentage. Holmgren won 161 games, with a .592 winning percentage. What did Jimmy do to make up for Holmgren having more than twice as many wins and a significantly higher winning percentage, plus replicating his success with a second team, which Johnson failed to do? Johnson won two Super Bowls in Dallas but fizzled in Miami. Holmgren won a Super Bowl in Green Bay, nearly repeated the following season, and later led Seattle to Super Bowl XL. Johnson didn’t invent new strategies, he didn’t spawn a great coaching tree, and Barry Switzer duplicated his success.

How about another Johnson contemporary, Mike Shanahan? Shanny, like Johnson, coached in back-to-back Super Bowl victories. But Shanahan won more than twice as many games as Johnson, though Johnson’s winning percentage was marginally higher, .556 to Shanahan’s .552. Shanahan’s peak was just as high as Johnson’s, but he sustained success for much longer, and I doubt anyone would argue that Johnson did more to develop the Cowboys’ talent than Shanahan did for stars like Terrell Davis and Shannon Sharpe. Shanahan was also the offensive coordinator for three Super Bowl teams, and worked with Steve Young in both of Young’s MVP seasons. Even if we want to assign massive credit for developing players, which I (and Troy Aikman) would argue should go primarily to Turner rather than Johnson, does Jimmy deserve more credit for the Cowboys’ Triplets than Shanahan does for Young, Davis, and undrafted WR Rod Smith?

Johnson has exactly the same career record, 80-64, as Brian Billick. Johnson won two Super Bowls, Billick one. Think about how willing you are to consider Brian Billick as a Hall of Fame candidate. Is another Super Bowl win all Billick needs to join the immortals? Johnson ranks 60th all-time in head coaching wins. He has fewer wins than any HOF coach whose career began after World War II. Actually, the only HOF coaches with fewer wins are Greasy Neale (1941-50, 63-43-5, 2 championships) and Guy Chamberlin (1922-27, 58-16-7, 4 championships).

Among the 12 Super Bowl-era head coaches in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Johnson ranks dead last in both wins and winning percentage, though he’s middle of the pack in Super Bowl victories. Seven of the other 11 coaches won at least 75% more games than Johnson, and one of the remaining four, Tony Dungy, won 74% more, with a winning percentage more than 100 points higher. Dungy is also the best head coach in the history of two different teams, a ground-breaker in the expansion of the African American coaching ranks, and an effective teacher with a respectable coaching tree that accounts for four Super Bowl appearances. That leaves three coaches from the Super Bowl era — over half a century — who didn’t win 1-and-3/4 times as many games as Johnson.

George Allen went 116-47-5. He won 45% more games than Johnson, and his .712 winning percentage is 156 points higher. Allen coached the Rams and Washington for 12 years and never had a losing season. He was twice named Coach of the Year. Allen never won a championship as head coach, but he introduced important innovations on both defense and special teams, and his coaching tree includes Marv Levy and Ted Marchibroda; Allen also gave Dick Vermeil his first NFL coaching job. Allen was defensive coordinator for the 1963 Bears, arguably the greatest defense of all time. ^[4]The ’63 Bears led the NFL in points allowed, yards allowed, rushing yards allowed, yards per carry allowed, passing yards allowed, interceptions, opponent’s passer rating, and turnovers. … Continue reading

John Madden went 103-32-7; his .759 winning percentage is the highest of any coach with at least 100 games, more than 200 points ahead of Johnson. Like Allen, he never had a losing season. Madden coached the team that won Super Bowl XI, and his teams reached the conference championship game in seven of his 10 seasons; Jimmy Johnson’s teams played for the conference championship in two of his nine seasons. For whatever it’s worth, Madden also went on to become the most iconic and beloved announcer in the history of the sport.

That leaves Bill Walsh, previously the only HOF coach of the Super Bowl era with fewer than 100 wins. Walsh went 92-59-1, which is 12 wins and 53 percentage points higher than Johnson. He also coached three Super Bowl victories, and is the most influential offensive coach of the Modern Era. His coaching tree makes up something like half the NFL.

I’m not saying every HOF coach needs to be Bill Walsh, but Jimmy Johnson’s record isn’t comparable to any HOF coach. No Hall of Fame coach in the last 90 years has sustained success so little as Johnson, and the only one who comes at all close was a true mastermind who revolutionized the game in ways that are still felt today. Johnson is a colossal outlier among Modern Era HOF coaches.

With his selection as part of the 2020 Centennial Hall of Fame Class, Jimmy Johnson is the worst coach in the PFHOF. Weeb Ewbank, probably the previous owner of that dubious honor, went 130-129-7, but he won three championships with two different teams, ^[5]Including arguably the two most important games in history and spawned an impressive coaching tree that included Chuck Knox and Buddy Ryan, the latter of whom still has a vibrant branch of Ewbank’s coaching tree. Does anyone in today’s NFL owe a noticeable debt to Johnson or any of his assistants? Marv Levy, another possibility, won 80% more NFL games than Johnson, with a higher winning percentage, and he won two Grey Cups with the Montreal Alouettes in addition to making four straight Super Bowl appearances, the only coach to do so. Levy also helped pioneer the use of no-huddle offense outside of two-minute drill situations, as a strategy for disrupting the defense, and he helmed the only consistently successful NFL iteration of the run & shoot.

The Centennial selection committee, including some of Johnson’s friends, passed over Don Coryell (111-83-1, .572), a massive innovator who was successful with both the Cardinals and Chargers. It passed over Marty Schottenheimer (200-126-1, .613), 8th all-time in head coaching wins, who won division titles with three different teams and whose coaching tree includes Super Bowl-winning coaches Bill Cowher and Mike McCarthy. It passed over George Seifert, who, like Johnson, was head coach for two Super Bowl victories, but who won almost 50% more games with a winning percentage almost 100 points higher. I can’t imagine any criteria that ranks Johnson ahead of all three of those coaches, to say nothing of other potential contenders like Shanahan and Holmgren.

I don’t hate Jimmy Johnson. He simply doesn’t have a coaching record comparable to anyone else in the Hall of Fame; his induction radically lowers the bar for HOF coaches. The twin selections of CBS’s Cowher and FOX’s Johnson make the 2020 Centennial Hall of Fame Class look political, especially given Cowher’s borderline credentials and Johnson’s outright lack of them.

Conclusion

Here’s a concise summary of the philosophy that informs this long post, from Adam Harstad via Twitter:

They had the perfect excuse to make this class exceptional. It is quite literally exceptional, an exception to the regular order! They could have put in anyone without worrying about setting precedent. Or they could have intentionally created precedent.

— Adam Harstad (@AdamHarstad) January 16, 2020

We could have had a class with Gradishar and Howton and Coryell and Sabol and Williams and Slater and Tyrer and Harold Jackson and Del Shofner and Jerry Smith. A class that broke rules and made new ones. A class that mattered!

Instead we get this. A regular class, just more so.

— Adam Harstad (@AdamHarstad) January 16, 2020

To Adam’s list of potential ground-breaking HOF choices, I’ll add: Spec Sanders, a shooting star who dazzled the AAFC and NFL for four seasons ^[6]Chase note: and was relevant this year!, assistant coaches like Clark Shaughnessy and Buddy Ryan and Bill Arnsparger, ^[7]If you aren’t familiar with Arnsparger, please consider reading the obituary I wrote for him in 2015. and combined player/coach selections like Richie Petitbon, who made four Pro Bowls as a safety with the Bears and won three Super Bowls as a defensive coordinator for Washington, and Lou Rymkus, an All-Pro tackle who won five championships with the Browns and head coach of the first championship team in AFL history.

The 2020 Centennial Hall of Fame selection committee did one big thing right, electing Steve Sabol, and many of the other selections were fine. But to the extent the Centennial class changes the Hall of Fame, it’s to lower the standards at multiple positions, notably offensive line, wide receiver, and head coach. I understand why the voters didn’t want to enshrine Jim Tyrer, who murdered his wife before committing suicide, but he’s the best OL not in Canton, and as we learn more about CTE, I hope we can muster sympathy and understanding for its victims without condoning things like domestic violence and driving under the influence. I understand how the selection committee could be turned off by Del Shofner’s short career, or feel that Jerry Smith was a glorified wide receiver, or that Doug Williams’ historical significance notwithstanding, he just wasn’t good enough to merit induction in Canton.

But Adam is right that bold, transformative choices weren’t apparent in the Centennial committee’s selections. Perhaps we should give some credit for the elections of Duke Slater (an African American star in a segregated era), Mac Speedie (acknowledging the importance of pro football leagues other than the NFL and AFL), and Alex Karras (forgiven for his off-field transgressions), and I can’t say enough good things about Steve Sabol. But the Centennial Hall of Fame class doesn’t really set any new precedents, or at least not positive ones, and I think you’ll find a broad consensus among historians that it failed to address the most glaring omissions from Canton. Lavvie Dilweg didn’t get in. Nor did Tombstone Jackson or Randy Gradishar or Chuck Howley. With half a dozen historical snubs at wide receiver, the committee’s choices of Speedie and Carmichael are extremely disappointing. Don Coryell got snubbed again; Schottenheimer and Seifert weren’t even finalists.

There are problems with who the selectors did choose for the Centennial class, but the bigger problem is who they didn’t take. I’d be happy to overlook questionable choices like Covert and Carmichael if we could celebrate slam dunks like Gradishar instead of so many borderline selections. The qualifications of most of the voters notwithstanding, the selection process seems to have been alternately personal and political, emphasizing connections over merit. To those of us unfortunate enough to care about the Pro Football Hall of Fame, it’s a serious letdown.

Yesterday, I began looking at the greatest dynasties in pro football history were represented on the NFL 100 team. Today, we pick back up with the top 13 dynasties.

t9. Decatur Staleys/Chicago Bears, 1920-27
73-17-16 (.811), 1 championship, 0 title appearances
20 dynasty points
NFL 100 Members: George Halas
Other HOFers: Ed Healey, George Trafton

Not a dynasty. They rate well by my system, but the system wasn’t designed for the 1920s. These were the first eight years of the NFL’s existence — actually in 1920 the league was called the APFA: American Professional Football Association. Teams not only played variable numbers of games, they regularly played against teams who weren’t even in the league. In 1921, the Louisville Brecks, Muncie Flyers, New York Brickley Giants, and Tonawanda Kardex combined to go 0-7, getting outscored by a total of 172-0.

Only four of the 12 NFL teams in 1927 were still in the league five years later. The Bears, Giants, and Packers combined to outscore their opponents 459-161 that season. In this environment, it was easy for real teams to pad their records, but the Bears only won one championship. Furthermore, ties weren’t counted towards winning percentage, so when the Bears went 6-1-4 in 1924, that counted as an .857 record, worth three dynasty points. I’m sorry, but there’s no way going 6-1-4, with two draws each against the Racine Legion and the Rock Island Independents, should earn as many dynasty points as the 2010 Patriots or the 2011 Packers.

I include this team for the sake of completeness, but subjectively, it wouldn’t make my top 30, to say nothing of tied for 9th.

t9. Green Bay Packers, 1936-43
65-19-3 (.774), 2 championships, 3 title appearances
20 dynasty points
NFL 100 Members: Curly Lambeau, Don Hutson
Other HOFers: Arnie Herber, Clarke Hinkle

Like the Joe Gibbs Dynasty in Washington, this team would actually benefit from a longer period than eight years: they were NFL champions in 1944. At a time when everyone played both offense and defense, the Packers had two great QBs (Cecil Isbell and Herber), a fullback who retired as the league’s all-time leading rusher (Hinkle), two very good linemen (Buckets Goldenberg and Bill Lee), a Hall of Fame coach (Lambeau), and Don Hutson.

Hutson was more than revolutionary; he was an anomaly. It is an understatement to say that he shattered records. Around the same time, Sammy Baugh redefined ideas about what passers could do, but Hutson was so outstanding that no one even thought to replicate what he was doing. In an 11-year career, he led the NFL in receptions eight times, in receiving yards seven times, and in receiving touchdowns nine times. He was also an excellent defensive player, with 30 interceptions in the six seasons the stat was kept. He led the league in 1940 and led in INT return yards in 1943. He was also a pretty good kicker, with nearly 200 extra points made. Like his contemporary Baugh, there’s a compelling argument that he is the greatest football player who ever lived.

Hinkle was an NFL 100 finalist as a linebacker. He was a terrific all-around player (#106) and a worthy NFL 100 finalist, but I don’t think there’s any single position at which he felt like he should be a finalist. I suppose linebacker was the best fit.

t9. New York Giants, 1956-63
73-25-4 (.745), 1 championship, 6 title appearances
20 dynasty points
NFL 100 Members: Roosevelt Brown
Other HOFers: Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, Andy Robustelli

Six championship appearances in eight years mark this as one of the great Eastern Conference dynasties of all time. Following a 47-7 victory in the 1956 NFL Championship Game, the Giants lost to the Colts twice (1958-59), the Packers twice (1961-62), and the Bears (1963). They collapsed pretty quickly after that, with their best players retiring, switching teams, or suffering career-altering illness and injury.

Gifford and Huff are the most famous players from this dynasty, but Brown and Robustelli were the greatest players. Rosey Brown in particular powered the dynasty: he was All-Pro all eight years, including a consensus first-team choice in 1956, ’57, ’58, ’59, and ’61. He was an obvious choice for the 100th Anniversary team.

Huff and Robustelli were also NFL 100 finalists. Huff played for the Giants from 1956-63, his tenure aligning precisely with the team’s greatest success. Robustelli, a defensive end, played for the Rams in the early ’50s, and his teams had a winning record in each of his first 13 seasons. Robustelli appeared in eight NFL title games, winning two. Very few players have such a consistent record of success.

t9. Minnesota Vikings, 1969-76
87-24-1 (.781), 0 championships, 4 title appearances
20 dynasty points
NFL 100 Members: Alan Page
Other HOFers: Bud Grant, Carl Eller, Paul Krause, Fran Tarkenton, Mick Tingelhoff, Ron Yary

The Vikings have never won a Super Bowl, but they reached the title game four times in eight years. They went 11-3 or better in six of those eight seasons, and 10-4 in a seventh. Their .781 winning percentage is the 5th-best on this list.

They did it with Hall of Fame talent: Tarkenton, Tingelhoff, and Yary on offense, plus Eller, Krause, and Page on defense. All seven HOFers from this team were NFL 100 finalists. Tarkenton was the major snub, a slam-dunk top-10 QB who got passed over due to his lack of finger hardware. The others were excellent players (or coach, in Grant’s case), but not serious top 100 contenders. Eller and Tingelhoff were probably the next in line.

t9. Dallas Cowboys, 1971-78
84-30 (.737), 2 championships, 4 title appearances
20 dynasty points
NFL 100 Members: Tom Landry, Roger Staubach, Randy White
Other HOFers: Mel Renfro, Rayfield Wright

The greatest dynasty in Cowboys history. The 1990s Cowboys won three championships in four years, but then disappeared. The 1970s Cowboys ruled the NFC for a decade. They won two Super Bowls, not three, but they had a winning percentage 65 points higher, and they made five Super Bowls in 10 years, the only team in history to do so until the 2011-18 Patriots.

Landry and White were slam dunks, and neither Renfro nor Wright were finalists, so Roger Staubach is the controversial pick from this team. Staubach led the league in passer rating four times, and retired with the highest rating in NFL history. He led the Cowboys to six NFC Championship Games, four Super Bowl appearances, and two titles, winning MVP of Super Bowl VI. Due to military service and injuries, though, he only played eight professional seasons. He was also never an Associated Press All-Pro, not even second-team. Those factors make him a questionable pick over Steve Young, whose knock is also that he only had eight quality seasons, and Fran Tarkenton, who played at a high level for the better part of eighteen seasons. The NFL voting was conducted way too early, but Drew Brees has a pretty persuasive case as an NFL 100 snub, too. Staubach was an exceptional player, but he’d fall just outside my all-time top 10 QBs. I would have named more than 10 quarterbacks, though, so Staubach would probably slip onto my personal #NFL100 roster anyway. He wasn’t a bad choice; rather, Brees, Tarkenton, and Young were unfortunate omissions.

8. Indianapolis Colts, 2003-10
99-29 (.773), 1 championship, 2 title appearances
21 dynasty points
NFL 100 Members: Marvin Harrison, Peyton Manning, Adam Vinatieri
Other HOFers: Tony Dungy

The Colts had two 14-0 starts in eight seasons, won double-digit games every year, and finished three games above an average of 12-4 every season. They lost on the road to the eventual Super Bowl champion in the 2003, 2004, and 2005 playoffs before winning it all in 2006. They were less successful than the Patriots of the same period, but they were a dominant, dynastic team that produced a lot of wins, and perhaps as many as seven Hall of Famers: Dwight Freeney, Jeff Saturday, and Reggie Wayne are all plausible contenders for Canton.

Manning was a lock for the NFL 100 team, and I hope Marvin Harrison was an easy choice as well. If you’re skeptical of Harrison, I hope you’ll read his profile in the Greatest Players of All Time series (#47). Champ Bailey and Charles Woodson, the starting cornerbacks on the official 2000s All-Decade team, both named Harrison as the toughest receiver they played against. Dungy was an NFL 100 finalist, but not a strong contender to make the top 10 on the team.

That leaves Vinatieri. I’m glad he made the team: he’s a 3-time All-Pro who holds career records for field goals and points scored, and he’s the most accomplished postseason kicker of all time. The differences among the top kickers are relatively small. You can make reasonable cases for Lou Groza, George Blanda, Jan Stenerud, Nick Lowery, Morten Andersen, Vinatieri, and Justin Tucker. There are viable arguments for all of them, and going into conniptions over the official selections (Stenerud and Vinatieri) would be ridiculous.

7. New England Patriots, 2001-08
97-31 (.758), 3 championships, 4 title appearances
24 dynasty points
NFL 100 Members: Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, Adam Vinatieri
Other HOFers: none so far

Note the large gap between the 8th-best dynasty (2003-10 Colts) and 7th-best, three dynasty points. At this point, we’re examining the best of the best dynasties. Each of the top seven won at least three championships, six of the seven made four or more title appearances, and all had winning percentages north of .750.

There’s not much to say about this team, since Belichick and Brady were obvious selections, and both are active and well-known. Vinatieri, we discussed in the Colts summary above. I hope a couple more players from this dynasty will eventually make the Hall of Fame (Logan Mankins, Richard Seymour, and Vince Wilfork, as well as Rodney Harrison, who came up one game short of qualifying for this dynasty), but none are NFL 100 snubs.

6. San Francisco 49ers, 1983-90
96-30-1 (.760), 3 championships, 3 title appearances
25 dynasty points
NFL 100 Members: Bill Walsh, Ronnie Lott, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice
Other HOFers: Charles Haley

The Joe Montana 49ers won their Super Bowls over nine seasons, so there’s no eight-year period that includes them all. They were a much better team from 1989-90 (28-4) than 1981-82 (16-9), but they’d rank highly in this project either way (19 dynasty points). The earlier time period excludes Haley and Rice, meaning the 1981-88 Niners only have three Hall of Fame representatives.

With Rice included, though, the 49ers become the first dynasty to match the 1967-74 and 1976-83 Raiders with four NFL 100 members. Those Raiders teams scored 17 and 19 dynasty points, respectively, about 75% of San Francisco’s total. If we want to play devil’s advocate, is there an explanation for their equal representation? Maybe.

The Niners have a coach and a quarterback on the list, which the Raiders did not, and those are probably the most important positions, certainly moreso than guard and punter. While safety and wide receiver aren’t necessarily premium positions, both Lott and Rice rate among the greatest players in history; the Raiders’ selections are closer to the bottom of the top 100. I don’t necessarily buy that argument, but if you wanted to defend the Raiders’ generous representation, it certainly helps on the road toward justification.

5. New England Patriots, 2011-18
99-29 (.773), 3 championships, 5 title appearances
26 dynasty points
NFL 100 Members: Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski
Other HOFers: none so far

The 2011-18 Patriots rate slightly ahead of the 2001-08 Patriots based on their consistent regular-season dominance. The 2001-08 Patriots missed the playoffs twice in eight years; from 2010 onward, they’ve not only made the playoffs every year, they’ve never failed to earn a first-round bye. That level of consistent excellence is unheard of since Otto Graham retired — more than sixty years ago.

Given this team’s incredible success — it has the most dynasty points of any team in the era of modern free agency — it is remarkable that it only has three serious Hall of Fame candidates. I suppose someone else from this time frame might eventually emerge as a candidate, but it seems unlikely. Note that I’m not even talking here about the 100th Anniversary all-time team, but just the Hall of Fame.

I’m gratified that Gronkowski made the NFL 100 roster. He deserved to be a no-brainer selection, but given the selection committee’s reluctance to honor recent and active players, I was concerned he might be left off. That would have been an injustice, and I’m glad none of us has to lose sleep over it.

t3. Chicago Bears, 1936-43
69-17-2 (.802), 3 championships, 5 title appearances
27 dynasty points
NFL 100 Members: George Halas, Danny Fortmann
Other HOFers: Sid Luckman, George Musso, Joe Stydahar

Hall of Fame center Bulldog Turner came up one game short of qualifying for this time period. He and Luckman were NFL 100 finalists, but ultimately left off the team. Luckman had the stronger argument, but I don’t have a problem with his omission. The Bears didn’t garner a lot of NFL 100 honors relative to their outstanding success, but this was the two-way era: everyone played offense and defense. Fortmann officially made the team as a guard, but he was also an excellent linebacker. Musso and Stydahar, both tackles, played offense but were most admired on defense. The Bears weren’t snubbed by the selection committee; Luckman could have made it and that wouldn’t have been a travesty, but I think the voters got it right. I’m glad that Fortmann made the team. If you don’t know about him, I hope you’ll read his profile in the best players ever countdown (#97).

t3. Pittsburgh Steelers, 1972-79
88-27-1 (.763), 4 championships, 4 title appearances
27 dynasty points
NFL 100 Members: Chuck Noll, Mel Blount, Joe Greene, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, Mike Webster
Other HOFers: Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann

Six NFL 100 selections. That’s 50% more than any other dynasty, and ties the ’63, ’64, and ’66 Colts. Greene, Ham, and Webster were no-doubters. The other three? Here’s a thought experiment comparing the Steelers’ defense to the Mike Singletary-era Bears. The 1972-79 Steelers led the NFL in fewest yards allowed and fewest points allowed twice each, with a combined 12 seasons in the top five, and an average rank of 4.3. The 1982-91 Chicago Bears led in yards and points three times each, with a combined 11 seasons in the top five, and an average rank of 5.6, dragged down by one bad season (1989). The Steel Curtain and the 46 defense Bears were roughly equal as dominant defenses.

The Steelers have four defensive players on the NFL 100 roster; Singletary was the only ’80s Bears defender even nominated as a finalist, and he didn’t make the team (which is a travesty). Maybe you disagree with the exact order, but the best players on each defense go something like this:

Steelers            Bears
1 Joe  Greene        Mike  Singletary
2 Jack  Ham          Dan Hampton
3 Jack  Lambert      Richard Dent
4 Mel  Blount        Steve McMichael
5 Donnie Shell       Wilber Marshall
6 Andy Russell       Dave Duerson
7 L.C. Greenwood     Otis Wilson
8 Dwight White       William Perry
9 Mike Wagner        Gary Fencik
10 Ernie Holmes      Shaun Gayle
11 Glen Edwards      Mike Richardson

I think most fans would argue that the Steelers are better at every point: Greene over Singletary, Ham over Hampton, Lambert over Dent, and so on down the line, without exception. If the Steelers were universally better, why wasn’t their defense more dominant than Chicago’s? Buddy Ryan, I hear some of you crying, but Bud Carson was a deeply respected defensive coordinator, Paul Zimmerman’s DC on his All-Century Team, and Chuck Noll made the NFL 100 as a coach. Besides, Chicago’s defensive excellence transcended Ryan’s tenure. When Ryan left to coach the Eagles in 1986, the Bears allowed fewer yards and fewer points than they had in any season with Ryan. In 1988, three years after Ryan left Chicago, the Bears led the NFL in fewest points allowed, ranked 2nd in fewest yards allowed, and Singletary was the consensus Defensive Player of the Year.

It seems obvious to me that the Pittsburgh players are overrated, Chicago’s are underrated, or both. The Bears are a discussion for another day, but let’s think about Blount, Lambert, and Noll. Chuck Noll is negatively distinguished from the rest of the 100th Anniversary coaches by his .580 winning percentage, the only selection below .600. From 1972-79, the Steelers were 88-27-1. Noll won when he had great players. But in his other 15 seasons, Pittsburgh was just 105-121. His teams were great for eight years, and below average for most of the other 15. This is the only team to win four Super Bowls in an eight-year span, and I don’t have a problem with Noll’s selection to the team, but he’s a borderline pick. If we really believe the Steelers had five top-100-caliber players and four other deserving Hall of Famers, Noll probably should have been left off. Any coach could win with that kind of talent.

Lambert and Blount would probably make my list, albeit toward the bottom, but I don’t believe either was quite as good as his reputation. Bradshaw, Harris, Stallworth, and Shell were NFL 100 finalists, as well. Pittsburgh’s 10 finalists tied for the most of any team. This was the greatest dynasty of the Super Bowl era, but I’m not sure it was quite that good. There are no snubs here.

2. Green Bay Packers, 1960-67
82-24-4 (.774), 5 championships, 6 title appearances
30 dynasty points
NFL 100 Members: Vince Lombardi, Forrest Gregg
Other HOFers: Herb Adderley, Willie Davis, Paul Hornung, Henry Jordan, Jerry Kramer, Ray Nitschke, Dave Robinson, Bart Starr, Jim Taylor, Willie Wood

Still the only team to win three consecutive NFL championships, the Lombardi Packers are the most celebrated dynasty in pro football history, and the one with the greatest Hall of Fame representation. This list of HOFers doesn’t even include center Jim Ringo, who was traded to Philadelphia after the 1963 season. Ringo came up one game short of qualifying (54 G), but he played on two championship-winning teams and is clearly part of the Lombardi Dynasty.  A 13th Hall of Fame player, Emlen Tunnell, spent his final days on the Lombardi Packers, too.

The team’s success did not translate to the NFL 100 roster, and on some level that makes sense. With so many Hall of Fame-level players, it stands to reason that there were fewer truly transcendent players. At the same time, it’s jarring that this team — with 30 dynasty points to Pittsburgh’s 27 — has only two NFL 100 selections.

If you’re looking for snubs, start in the defensive backfield. In the Top 125 series last summer, I rated Adderley among the top five CBs in history. He was a 7-time All-NFL selection who combined world-class speed and outstanding cover skills with merciless tackling, a player with no weaknesses. Over his 12-year career with the Packers and Cowboys, Adderley’s teams won six championships.

At safety, I slightly prefer Willie Wood to Jack Christiansen, but Christiansen would be my 7th safety and Wood is 6th, so that’s a pretty trivial complaint. The selection committee did a good job at that position, but I was surprised they left Wood off the roster. Maybe I shouldn’t have been; he didn’t make the 50th or 75th Anniversary teams, either.

Adderley, Davis, Kramer, Nitschke, Robinson, Starr, Taylor, Wood, and Ringo were all finalists. Robinson is the weakest of that group, but any of the others plausibly could have made the roster. If I were picking, I’d have Adderley and Wood in addition to Lombardi and Gregg.

1. Cleveland Browns, 1946-53
87-12-3 (.879), 5 championships, 8 title appearances
39 dynasty points
NFL 100 Members: Paul Brown, Otto Graham, Marion Motley
Other HOFers: Frank Gatski, Lou Groza, Dante Lavelli, Bill Willis

Even if you apply an absurdly harsh penalty for AAFC seasons, like -2 dynasty points per year, the Browns would still rate as the greatest dynasty in pro football history. Their winning percentage was at least .900 in five of these eight seasons. They played in 10 straight championship games, winning seven of them. Paul Brown was the greatest football coach in history, maybe second depending on how you rate Bill Belichick. Graham is in the discussion for greatest QB of all time, and Motley was a dominant, game-changing force. Paul Zimmerman, Sports Illustrated’s Dr. Z, named Motley the greatest player he’d ever seen.

Groza, Lavelli, and Willis were NFL 100 finalists as well. Groza was nominated as a kicker, and certainly would have been a reasonable selection, especially combined with his contributions as an offensive tackle. Lavelli was not a strong candidate; he’s a borderline Hall of Famer, even. Willis had a short but brilliant career, similar to Motley. I wouldn’t have chosen him to the team, but he would have been a reasonable pick. I’m a little surprised that Gatski wasn’t a finalist, but he wouldn’t have made the final roster anyway.

This was the greatest dynasty in pro football history. Brown, Graham, and Motley were transcendent figures, but are they really enough to do justice to this dynasty’s dominance? Three selections and six finalists, one of them a kicker? Let’s examine all of the dynasties from this series:

Rk.  Team        Years     Record    Win%   CS CSA Score NFL100 Finalist
1.   Browns      1946-53   87-12-3   .879   5   8   39    3    6
2.   Packers     1960-67   82-24-4   .774   5   6   30    2   10
t3.  Steelers    1972-79   88-27-1   .763   4   4   27    6   10
t3.  Bears       1936-43   69-17-2   .802   3   5   27    2    3
5.   Patriots    2011-18   99-29     .773   3   5   26    3    3
6.   49ers       1983-90   96-30-1   .760   3   3   25    4    4
7.   Patriots    2001-08   97-31     .758   3   4   24    3    3
8.   Colts       2003-10   99-29     .773   1   2   21    3    4
t9.  Cowboys     1971-78   84-30     .737   2   4   20    3    3
t9.  Vikings     1969-76   87-24-1   .781   0   4   20    1    7
t9.  Giants      1956-63   73-25-4   .745   1   6   20    1    3
t9.  Packers     1936-43   65-19-3   .774   2   3   20    2    3
t9.  Bears       1920-27   73-17-16  .811   1   1   20    1    1
t14. Raiders     1976-83   80-37     .684   3   3   19    4    5
t14. Dolphins    1970-77   83-28-1   .746   2   3   19    2    4
t14. Colts       1964-71   84-23-5   .785   1   3   19    3    3
t14. Redskins    1936-43   60-24-4   .714   2   5   19    1    1
t14. Packers     1925-32   72-22-10  .766   3   3   19    1    2
t19. Cowboys     1991-98   86-42     .672   3   3   18    2    4
t19. Giants      1933-40   62-27-6   .697   2   5   18    1    2
t21. Steelers    2004-11   89-39     .695   2   3   17    0    1
t21. Raiders     1967-74   84-21-7   .794   0   1   17    4    6
t21. Rams        1945-52   61-28-4   .685   2   4   17    0    1
t24. 49ers       1991-98   95-33     .742   1   1   16    1    2
t24. Washington  1982-89   83-37     .692   2   3   16    2    2
t26. Rams        1973-80   86-31-1   .733   0   1   15    0    2
t26. Browns      1954-61   66-28-4   .702   2   3   15    2    3
t26. Lions       1950-57   61-33-2   .649   3   4   15    2    6
t29. Packers     2009-16   87-40-1   .684   1   1   14    0    1
t29. Bills       1988-95   87-41     .680   0   4   14    1    3
t29. Eagles      1944-51   58-30-3   .659   2   3   14    1    2

Best winning percentage:

1. 1946-53 Cleveland Browns, .879
2. 1936-43 Chicago Bears, .802
3. 1967-74 Oakland Raiders, .794
4. 1964-71 Baltimore Colts, .785
5. 1969-76 Minnesota Vikings, .781

Lowest:

29. 1991-98 Dallas Cowboys, .672
30. 1944-51 Philadelphia Eagles, .659
31. 1950-57 Detroit Lions, .649

The Browns went 47-4-3 (.922) in the AAFC, but they also went 40-8 (.833) in the NFL from 1950-53. Furthermore, the drop-off can be explained by the decline and departure of players like Motley and Mac Speedie, as well as evolutions in strategy that contained the Browns’ dominance. They don’t rank where they do because they played in a weak league. The present-day Patriots and Colts are equally remarkable, with the highest winning percentages of any team in the last 40 years.

Conversely, the relatively low winning percentages of the 1990s Cowboys and 1950s Lions demonstrate why they rank in the bottom half of this list despite their three championship victories. They were great teams for 4-6 years, but not the same type of dynasty as the teams in the top 10 and certainly not for 8-year periods.

Most championships:

t1. 1946-53 Cleveland Browns, 5
t1. 1960-67 Green Bay Packers, 5
3. 1972-79 Pittsburgh Steelers, 4
4. eight teams tied, 3

Fewest:

t28. 1967-74 Oakland Raiders, 0
t28. 1969-76 Minnesota Vikings, 0
t28. 1973-80 L.A. Rams, 0
t28. 1988-95 Buffalo Bills, 0

If you asked me to name 10 pro football dynasties, I wouldn’t mention the Raiders of this era, or the Vikings. I wouldn’t mention the ’70s Rams or the ’90s Bills, or the Dan Reeves Broncos and the Donovan McNabb Eagles. But those were great teams and consistent winners, and on an expansive list of dynasties, I believe they’re more deserving than teams that won a fluke championship or two but never established themselves as year-in, year-out contenders, the team to be reckoned with in their division or conference.

Most championship appearances:

1. 1946-53 Cleveland Browns, 8
t2. 1956-63 New York Giants, 6
t2. 1960-67 Green Bay Packers, 6
4. four teams tied, 5

All of these teams precede the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. It’s a lot easier to dominate a small league than a large one. The post-merger leaders are the Cowboys, who reached five Super Bowls from 1970-78, and the Patriots, who did the same from 2011-18.

Fewest championship appearances:

t28. 1967-74 Oakland Raiders, 1
t28. 1973-80 L.A. Rams, 1
t28. 1991-98 San Francisco 49ers, 1
t28. 2009-16 Green Bay Packers, 1

Other than the Pre-Modern Era teams (especially those from the 1920s), these are the “dynasties” I’m most skeptical of. If you can’t win your own conference more than once, I think you’re just a consistently good team, not a dynasty. The Packers and 49ers at least won a Super Bowl, and the Raiders have the third-highest winning percentage in history. The 1973-80 Rams are probably the least dynastic team in this project, with the possible exception of the 1920-27 Bears.

Rk.  Team        Years     Record    Win%   CS CSA Score NFL100 Finalist
1.   Browns      1946-53   87-12-3   .879   5   8   39    3    6
2.   Packers     1960-67   82-24-4   .774   5   6   30    2   10
t3.  Steelers    1972-79   88-27-1   .763   4   4   27    6   10
t3.  Bears       1936-43   69-17-2   .802   3   5   27    2    3
5.   Patriots    2011-18   99-29     .773   3   5   26    3    3
6.   49ers       1983-90   96-30-1   .760   3   3   25    4    4
7.   Patriots    2001-08   97-31     .758   3   4   24    3    3
8.   Colts       2003-10   99-29     .773   1   2   21    3    4
t9.  Cowboys     1971-78   84-30     .737   2   4   20    3    3
t9.  Vikings     1969-76   87-24-1   .781   0   4   20    1    7
t9.  Giants      1956-63   73-25-4   .745   1   6   20    1    3
t9.  Packers     1936-43   65-19-3   .774   2   3   20    2    3
t9.  Bears       1920-27   73-17-16  .811   1   1   20    1    1
t14. Raiders     1976-83   80-37     .684   3   3   19    4    5
t14. Dolphins    1970-77   83-28-1   .746   2   3   19    2    4
t14. Colts       1964-71   84-23-5   .785   1   3   19    3    3
t14. Redskins    1936-43   60-24-4   .714   2   5   19    1    1
t14. Packers     1925-32   72-22-10  .766   3   3   19    1    2
t19. Cowboys     1991-98   86-42     .672   3   3   18    2    4
t19. Giants      1933-40   62-27-6   .697   2   5   18    1    2
t21. Steelers    2004-11   89-39     .695   2   3   17    0    1
t21. Raiders     1967-74   84-21-7   .794   0   1   17    4    6
t21. Rams        1945-52   61-28-4   .685   2   4   17    0    1
t24. 49ers       1991-98   95-33     .742   1   1   16    1    2
t24. Washington  1982-89   83-37     .692   2   3   16    2    2
t26. Rams        1973-80   86-31-1   .733   0   1   15    0    2
t26. Browns      1954-61   66-28-4   .702   2   3   15    2    3
t26. Lions       1950-57   61-33-2   .649   3   4   15    2    6
t29. Packers     2009-16   87-40-1   .684   1   1   14    0    1
t29. Bills       1988-95   87-41     .680   0   4   14    1    3
t29. Eagles      1944-51   58-30-3   .659   2   3   14    1    2

When we look at each dynasty’s Hall of Fame count, what stands out?

To me, it’s the two teams with double-digit finalists. The Packers and Steelers were legendary teams, but they have many more players honored than similarly successful teams like the Otto Graham Browns, Danny Fortmann Bears, Tom Brady Patriots, or Joe Montana 49ers.

Other teams that seem overrepresented are: the 1969-76 Vikings, with seven finalists and no championships; the 1967-74 and 1976-83 Raiders, each with four NFL 100 players; and the 1950-57 Lions, with the lowest winning percentage in this whole project but six 100th Anniversary finalists. While team results are dependent on a lot more than a handful of superstars, it seems like those teams should have been represented more modestly.

On the reverse side, teams whose excellent results seem to merit more honors than their individual members received, let’s start with the Brady-Belichick Patriots, who appear twice among the top seven dynasties, with a combined four NFL 100 finalists to show for it, one of them a kicker. I don’t know who else from those teams would be a snub, but their limited haul speaks to the greatness of the representatives who did make the squad.

I might aso argue for the Sam Huff-era Giants, though not for Huff specifically. Those Giants are the only Modern-Era team with at least 18 dynasty points (they have 20) and only one 100th Anniversary selection. I could be persuaded to nudge DE Andy Robustelli onto the roster. You can read my profile of him among the top 100 players in NFL history (#100). Robustelli also played 23 games for the 1945-52 Rams, who were snubbed by the NFL 100 committee.

Finally, the four dynasties with no NFL 100 representatives obviously stand out: the 2004-11 Steelers, for whom Troy Polamalu was the strongest contender; the 1945-52 Rams, who did have Crazy Legs Hirsch, an NFL 100 player who came up one game short of qualifying as part of the dynasty; the 1973-80 Rams, who have a similar situation with Merlin Olsen; and the 2009-16 Packers, with Aaron Rodgers as the only obvious standout. Should Polamalu and Rodgers have made the final roster? My initial reaction is to say no, but this exercise has me considering their candidacies further.

Finally, there was a chronological bias in the NFL 100 voting:

Rk.  Team        Years     Record    Win%   CS CSA Score NFL100 Finalist
t9.  Bears       1920-27   73-17-16  .811   1   1   20    1    1
t14. Packers     1925-32   72-22-10  .766   3   3   19    1    2
t19. Giants      1933-40   62-27-6   .697   2   5   18    1    2
t3.  Bears       1936-43   69-17-2   .802   3   5   27    2    3
t9.  Packers     1936-43   65-19-3   .774   2   3   20    2    3
t14. Redskins    1936-43   60-24-4   .714   2   5   19    1    1
t29. Eagles      1944-51   58-30-3   .659   2   3   14    1    2
t21. Rams        1945-52   61-28-4   .685   2   4   17    0    1
1.   Browns      1946-53   87-12-3   .879   5   8   39    3    6
t26. Lions       1950-57   61-33-2   .649   3   4   15    2    6
t26. Browns      1954-61   66-28-4   .702   2   3   15    2    3
t9.  Giants      1956-63   73-25-4   .745   1   6   20    1    3
2.   Packers     1960-67   82-24-4   .774   5   6   30    2   10
t14. Colts       1964-71   84-23-5   .785   1   3   19    3    3
t21. Raiders     1967-74   84-21-7   .794   0   1   17    4    6
t9.  Vikings     1969-76   87-24-1   .781   0   4   20    1    7
t14. Dolphins    1970-77   83-28-1   .746   2   3   19    2    4
t9.  Cowboys     1971-78   84-30     .737   2   4   20    3    3
t3.  Steelers    1972-79   88-27-1   .763   4   4   27    6   10
t26. Rams        1973-80   86-31-1   .733   0   1   15    0    2
t14. Raiders     1976-83   80-37     .684   3   3   19    4    5
t24. Washington  1982-89   83-37     .692   2   3   16    2    2
6.   49ers       1983-90   96-30-1   .760   3   3   25    4    4
t29. Bills       1988-95   87-41     .680   0   4   14    1    3
t19. Cowboys     1991-98   86-42     .672   3   3   18    2    4
t24. 49ers       1991-98   95-33     .742   1   1   16    1    2
7.   Patriots    2001-08   97-31     .758   3   4   24    3    3
8.   Colts       2003-10   99-29     .773   1   2   21    3    4
t21. Steelers    2004-11   89-39     .695   2   3   17    0    1
t29. Packers     2009-16   87-40-1   .684   1   1   14    0    1
5.   Patriots    2011-18   99-29     .773   3   5   26    3    3

Teams from the ’20s and ’30s average 1.3 selections and 2.0 finalists, though the low totals makes sense: with two-way players, those teams had fewer contributors. The early Modern Era fares a little better, averaging 1.5 selections and 3.5 finalists. Then we get to the ’60s and ’70s: 2.8 selections and 5.6 finalists. When we hit the ’80s and ’90s, the averages drop back to 2.0 selections and 3.0 finalists. The 21st-century teams average 1.8 selections and 2.4 finalists. Chart:

Decades    #OfDyn AvgScore NFL100 Finalist

1920s/30s   6     20.5    1.3    2.0
1940s/50s   6     20.0    1.5    3.5
1960s/70s   9     20.7    2.8    5.6
1980s/90s   5     17.8    2.0    3.0
2000s/10s   5     20.4    1.8    2.4

There are multiple explanations that could account for this chronological disparity. One is that the ’60s and ’70s were the golden age of pro football, and that players just aren’t as good today. I don’t buy that, and you probably don’t either.

Rather, I think four factors combine to account for the chronological bias: league size, free agency, forgotten short-comings, and nostalgia. There were 21 major league professional football teams in 1960. There were 26 in 1970, 28 in 1980 and 1990, 31 in 2000 and 32 in 2010. The best players are no longer concentrated on a handful of dynasties; they’re spread out across a league that has grown by 50%.

Modern free agency probably plays a role in this as well. In the ’70s, the best players were concentrated on a few dominant teams. The Dolphins and Cowboys and Steelers don’t have much higher winning percentages than dynasties from other eras, because they had to play each other, but they simply dominated the league’s have-nots. From 1972-79, the Steelers went 50-1 against teams that finished the season under .500. From 1973-77, the Vikings and Raiders combined to go 74-2 against teams that finished the season under .500. The 1970s Cowboys lost less than one game per season against opponents with losing records. The dynasties of that era competed fiercely with each other, but they were extraordinarily dominant compared to everyone else, and Hall of Fame-caliber players disproportionately played for dynasties.

Another factor in selecting teams like this is that, over time, player weaknesses fade into memory. All that’s left are the numbers: personal stats, Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections, championship rings… personal impressions start to matter less as we re-check stats and histories to remind ourselves. Personal habits, accessibility for interviews, and isolated bad games all have less impact over time. Some of the recent players who got passed over by voters may benefit from that a decade or two down the line.

Perhaps most importantly, the selection committee, like the rest of us, is vulnerable to nostalgia. Most of the voters were Baby Boomers, and they grew up with the football heroes of the ’60s and ’70s. Everyone tends to regard their formative years as an ideal, and each generation prioritizes its own experiences and memories.

Other than the ’50s Lions, every dynasty that struck me as generously represented on the 100th Anniversary team was from the ’60s and ’70s, with no real obvious snubs from that era. I wish the voters had paid a little more attention to the chronology of their selections, or at least a different type of attention, since there were a few surprising choices that seemed like politically correct nods to certain eras. Bill Hewitt and Crazy Legs Hirsch, for instance, struck me that way.

To wrap up, beyond the 31 dynasties profiled here, there are 12 other teams with at least 10 dynasty points.

13: Bears (1928-35), Chargers (1960-67), Chiefs (1962-69), Browns (1962-69), Dolphins (1978-85), Bears (1984-91), Packers (1995-2002)

12: Giants (1984-91), Broncos (1996-2003)

11: no one

10: Lions (1931-38), Giants (2005-12), Seahawks (2010-17)

Those 12 (very) minor dynasties combine for ten NFL 100 selections: Lance Alworth (Chargers), Bobby Bell and Buck Buchanan (Chiefs), Jim Brown and Paul Warfield (Browns), Don Shula and Dwight Stephenson (Dolphins), Brett Favre (Packers), Lawrence Taylor (’80s Giants), and Dutch Clark (Lions).

As always, please leave your thoughts in the comments.