CANTON, OHIO – New Orleans Saints wide receivers coach Henry Ellard and Saints Hall of Famers Sam Mills and Morten Andersen are among the modern-era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2015.
This year's list of modern-era nominees includes 99 players and 14 coaches. A Modern-Era candidate – player or coach – must be retired for at least five consecutive seasons to be eligible for consideration.
The complete list of Modern-Era candidates for the Class of 2015 consists of 113 nominees. From that list, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee will choose 25 candidates who will advance as semifinalist nominees that will be announced in late November. That semifinalist list will be further reduced by a mail ballot to 15 Modern-Era finalists and announced in early January.
The Class of 2015 will be selected from the list of the 15 Modern-Era finalists plus the one Senior finalist (former Minnesota Vikings center Mick Tingelhoff) selected last month by the Hall of Fame's Senior Selection Committee, and two yet-to-be-determined Contributor finalists who will be selected by the Hall of Fame's Contributor Selection Committee. The Senior finalist and Contributor finalists will be voted yes or no for election at the Annual Selection Meeting. Like the Modern-Era finalists, the senior and contributor nominees must receive an 80 percent positive vote to be elected.
While there is no set number for any class of enshrinees, the selection process by-laws provide that between four and eight new members will be selected.
The actual voting for the Class of 2015 will be conducted at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee's annual meeting, which will be held in Arizona on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015 the day before Super Bowl XLIX. The results will be announced that evening.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2015 will be formally enshrined during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival in Canton, Ohio next August. The Enshrinement ceremony is televised nationally by the Hall of Fame's broadcast partners, NFL Network and ESPN.
More information on all the modern-era nominees, selection process, and Enshrinement ticket information can be found on the Hall of Fame's website at ProFootballHOF.com.
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
