The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced their list of Modern-Era Nominees for the Class of 2015 on Tuesday and as expected, former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis will make a fifth straight attempt at being enshrined in Canton.
Bettis, who rushed for 10,571 yards during his 10 seasons with the Steelers, has been a finalist the last four years. He currently ranks sixth on the all-time NFL rushing list with 13,662 yards.
Former Steelers linebacker Kevin Greene, kicker Gary Anderson, safety Thomas Everett and coaches Bill Cowher and Buddy Parker are also listed among the 113 nominees that includes 99 players and 14 coaches.
For Greene, a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time First-Team All-Pro, this will be the eighth straight year that he’s been nominated. He’s been a finalist each of the last three years. He finished his career in 1999 with 160 sacks and currently ranks third on the NFL’s all-time list.
The list of 113 nominees will be trimmed down to 25 semifinalist in late November by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee. From there, the 15 Modern-Era finalists will be announced in early January.
List of Modern-Era Nominees for the Class of 2015
*Finalist in 2014; First-year eligibles underlined
Quarterbacks: (4) – Randall Cunningham, Rich Gannon, Phil Simms, Kurt Warner
Wide Receivers: (9) – *Tim Brown (also KR), Isaac Bruce, Gary Clark, Henry Ellard (also PR), *Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, Sterling Sharpe, Jimmy Smith, Rod Smith
Tight End: (1) – Mark Bavaro
Running Backs: (14) – Shaun Alexander, Ottis Anderson, Tiki Barber, *Jerome Bettis, Roger Craig, Stephen Davis, Terrell Davis, Eddie George, Priest Holmes, Edgerrin James, Daryl Johnston, Jamal Lewis, Herschel Walker (also KR), Ricky Watters
Offensive Linemen: (23) – Willie Anderson (T), Tony Boselli (T), Jeff Bostic (C), Lomas Brown (T), Jim Covert (T), Bill Fralic (G/T), Jay Hilgenberg (C), Chris Hinton (G/T), Kent Hull (C), Joe Jacoby (T), Jon Jansen (T), Mike Kenn (T), Jim Lachey (T), Kevin Mawae (C/G), Mark May (G/T/C),Tom Nalen (C), Nate Newton (G), Orlando Pace (T), Chris Samuels (T), Mark Schlereth (G), *Will Shields (G), Tra Thomas (T), Steve Wisniewski (G)
Defensive Linemen: (12) – Al “Bubba” Baker (DE), Jerome Brown (DT), Carl Hairston (DE/DT), *Charles Haley (also LB), Jevon Kearse (DE), Dexter Manley (DE), Charles Mann (DE), Steve McMichael (DT/NT), Fred Smerlas (NT), Greg Townsend (DE), Ted Washington (DT/NT), Bryant Young (DE)
Linebackers: (13) – Cornelius Bennett, Tedy Bruschi, *Kevin Greene (also DE), Ken Harvey, Clay Matthews, Willie McGinest (also DE), Karl Mecklenburg, Matt Millen, Sam Mills, Junior Seau, Chris Spielman, Darryl Talley, Zach Thomas
Defensive Backs: (16) – Eric Allen (CB), Steve Atwater (S), Joey Browner (S), LeRoy Butler (S), Thomas Everett (S), Rodney Harrison (S), Ty Law (CB), Albert Lewis (CB), *John Lynch (S), Terry McDaniel (CB), Tim McDonald (S), Frank Minnifield (CB), Shawn Springs (CB), Troy Vincent (CB/S), Everson Walls (CB), Darren Woodson (S)
Kickers/Punters: (5) – *Morten Andersen (K), Gary Anderson (K), Jason Elam (K), Sean Landeta (P), Nick Lowery (K)
Special Teams/Position Players: (2) – Brian Mitchell (RB/PR/KR), Steve Tasker (also WR)
Coaches: (14) –Don Coryell, Bill Cowher, *Tony Dungy, Tom Flores, Mike Holmgren, Jimmy Johnson, Chuck Knox, Buddy Parker, Richie Petitbon, Dan Reeves, Lou Saban, Marty Schottenheimer, Clark Shaughnessy, Dick Vermeil
