Thursday night, T.J. Watt wasn’t the only one snubbed. Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Buddy Parker was not named one of the 2024 Hall of Fame inductees, a surprising move from those who follow Hall of Fame history and voting process.
Parker was one of the two finalists on the Senior Committee and those who make it that far are almost always part of the official class. With no class-size restriction at play, NFL historian and Hall of Fame voter Rick Gosselin said he was surprised by Parker’s exclusion.
“Back when we put up one senior or two seniors,” said Gosselin via Talk Of Fame Two, “they were pretty much rubber-stamped. But now you’ve got four basically senior candidates – coach/contributor and (senior) player candidates – and I think it’s easier to reduce by one or even two, as we see here. I just think we’re losing the history of the game.”
The Hall of Fame finalists included four from the senior/contributor side. Three players in LB Randy Gradishar, DT Steve McMichael, and WR Art Powell along with Parker, the finalist from the coach/contributor committee. Generally, those who make it to the finalist stage are selected by the committee, needing 80 percent of the votes to be inducted. McMichael and Gradishar were elected but Parker and Powell were not. According to Talk of Fame Two, it’s a rare instance where not one but two of the four finalists failed to make it.
“Not including the Centennial Class of 2020 (decided by a separate board), Parker became the first coach or contributor finalist to be denied since former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue – then one of two contributor candidates — in 2017 and only the second overall.”
Parker served as the Steelers’ head coach from 1957-64. Though Parker had his own quirks, loathing rookies and quick to trade draft picks (Pittsburgh didn’t have a selection until the eighth round of the 1963 draft, for example) he found more success in Pittsburgh than nearly any coach had up until that point. In eight years with the Steelers, he posted a winning record, going 51-47-6. He led the team to a 7-4-1 record in 1958 for only the franchise’s fourth-ever winning season. In 1962, the Steelers won nine games, finishing second in the NFL East Division.
Parker abruptly resigned just ahead of the 1965 season, and the Steelers fell back into their losing ways under Mike Nixon and Bill Austin before Chuck Noll was hired in 1969.
In August, Parker emerged from a field of 12 coaching and contributor finalists, beating out Robert Kraft, Art Rooney Jr. (who helped shape the Steelers’ 70s drafts), and Tom Coughlin among others. Failing to make the Hall is a surprise and perhaps Gosselin is correct that the history of the game is being lost. Few voters were around to remember Parker’s time and impact on the game, a problem that will only worsen in time.
Headlining the 2024 Hall of Fame class are Indianapolis Colts DE Dwight Freeney, Houston Texans WR Andre Johnson, and San Francisco 49ers LB Patrick Willis. Besides the two senior selections elected, the entirety of the class is from the modern era. Willis had the earliest end to his career of the list, retiring after the 2014 season.
