ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Here we go again.
Once again, former Broncos linebacker Randy Gradishar and former Broncos coaches Dan Reeves and Mike Shanahan are on the doorstep of football immortality.
Will one or two (can’t be all three) cross the threshold to the Pro Football Hall of Fame bust room?
Gradishar, 71, was considered the best player on the famed Orange Crush defense in the late 1970s. He has been close at least four times before. He was a top 15 modern-era finalist in 2003 and 2008 and was believed to have been a narrow also-ran to election as a senior finalist in 2020 and 2022.
The HOF announced Thursday he’s among the 12 senior finalists again for the class of 2024.
You’ve heard this before, but Gradishar appears to be an odds-on favorite. Hall of Fame voter Clark Judge recently polled five NFL historians and media members as to their top five from the list of 31 senior player semifinalists, and Gradishar came out with the most votes and highest score.
“I just keep hoping I’m still there when they re-vote,’’ Gradishar said by phone interview Thursday. “I’m excited. I’ve been through this a long time. I’m just glad to have my name on the list. Last year was a pretty close situation. And from what you're saying it gives me a little bit more hope. I’m just going to continue to pray and hope that this could be the year.”
The HOF senior committee is expected to nominate three senior players on Aug. 22 for what should be a final rubber-stamp election into the Hall of Fame.
The other 11 senior player HOF finalists: Ken Anderson, Maxie Baughan, Roger Craig, Joe Jacoby, Albert Lewis, Steve McMichael, Eddie Meador, Art Powell, Sterling Sharpe (older brother of Broncos’ Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe), Otis Taylor and Al Wistert. Again, three from this group will be nominated for final election.
Reeves and Shanahan are among the top 12 finalists in the Hall of Fame coach/contributor category for a second consecutive year. Getting in will be a little more difficult, though, as only one coach/contributor finalist will be nominated by a committee on Aug. 15.
Shanahan, 70, was the head coach who guided the Broncos to their first- and second-ever Super Bowl titles in 1997-98. He is tied for 13th all-time among NFL coaches with 170 wins.
Reeves, who died just shy of his 78th birthday on Jan. 1, 2022, led two teams to four combined Super Bowl appearances -- three for the Broncos and another for the Atlanta Falcons. He is ninth all-time with 190 coaching wins. He was also a Dallas Cowboys halfback in the 1960s, memorably throwing a 50-yard touchdown pass to Lance Rentzel in the famed Ice Bowl.
“I’m happy for him, happy for his family,’’ said Joe DeCamillis, Reeves’ son-in-law and long NFL special teams coordinator, including with the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 team. “Hopefully, he has a chance to get in. I know there’s a lot of deserving candidates but I don’t think there’s anyone more deserving than Dan.”
Former University of Colorado offensive lineman John Wooten is also among the top 12 finalists as a contributor. The other nine coach/contributor finalists: Tom Coughlin, Mike Holmgren, Bucko Kilroy, Robert Kraft, Buddy Parker, Art Rooney Jr., Marty Schottenheimer, Clark Shaughnessy and Lloyd Wells.
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