ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — For the second time in a week, the Broncos came up empty for a Hall of Fame nomination.
Former Broncos coaches Mike Shanahan and Dan Reeves were among 12 finalists considered for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2023, but instead it was Don Coryell who received the lone nomination from the coach and contributor category.
Coryell, who passed away in 2010, not only had coaching success with the St. Louis Cardinals in the mid-1970s and San Diego Chargers in the early 1980s, he was considered an offensive innovator who helped open up the NFL passing game through his Air Coryell attack.
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Shanahan's candidacy was built on the fact he won two Super Bowl titles with the Broncos, had 178 coaching wins and developed a strong coaching tree that includes Gary Kubiak, Sean McVay, his son Kyle Shanahan, Mike McDaniel and Matt LaFleur.
Reeves, who passed away on Jan. 1, went to nine Super Bowls as a player, assistant coach and head coach. Only New England coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady have more Super Bowl appearances.
Reeves led the Broncos to three Super Bowls and the Falcons to one. Reeves' teams lost all four Super Bowls, which might have explained why he has fallen short of Hall of Fame election, except two other coaches who went 0-4 in Super Bowls – Bud Grant and Marv Levy – had their busts bronzed in Canton long ago.
Reeves also had 190 career coaching wins to rank 10th all-time. Only Marty Schottenheimer, among the top 10 winningest coaches eligible for the the Hall of Fame, is not in and that’s likely because he never led his to team a Super Bowl appearance.
Reeves' Broncos also went 6-5 against Coryell's Chargers from 1981-86 – 5-2 after the Broncos acquired Elway in 1983.
Reeves was also a distinguished halfback for the Dallas Cowboys, scoring a combined 27 touchdowns rushing and receiving in the 1966-67 seasons. He also threw a 50-yard halfback option touchdown pass in the famed Ice Bowl.
Wooten, an All-American offensive lineman for the Colorado Buffaloes in 1958, went on to serve as a famed messenger guard who blocked for Jim Brown and Leroy Kelly in Cleveland. He then became a player agent for the likes of Drew Pearson and Billy Joe Dupree, scout and personnel executive for the Cowboys and later became the first director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which helped push for more diversity coach and executive interviews.
Last week, former Broncos inside linebacker Randy Gradishar was among the 12 senior player finalists for the Hall of Fame but the three nominations from that category went to Ken Riley, Chuck Howley and Joe Klecko.
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