Bill Belichick feels that former Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2025 is being presented for enshrinement on Saturday and as we watch Eric Allen, Jared Allen, Antonio Gates and Sterling Sharpe get their gold jackets, we will naturally think about who could follow them.
For the Denver Broncos, there are some deserving players, but former head coach Mike Shanahan, who won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998, may be at the top of the list of those deserving of entry into Canton.
Bill Belichick, arguably the best head coach in NFL history, who will be eligible for the class of 2026, believes that Shanahan should be in.
Belichick, now the head coach at the University of North Carolina, was speaking to Jeff Hauser of Athlon Sports (via Nick Ferguson) last week and had this to say when asked why Shanahan doesn't get more consideration for the Hall of Fame:
"Well I think he should, I mean, two Super Bowl championships. Mike did a great job; he and Alex Gibbs really developed that zone running game that almost every team in football runs today. It's not just wins and losses but I would say his contributions to the game. Obviously, his son Kyle is a great coach in his family. But I thought Mike was tremendous. We always had a hard time with defending Mike. Again, I became a better coach having to work against Mike and Mike's teams. Ya know, it was Denver, and later o,n when he went to Washington. I think he should be, a hundred percent, I think he should be in the Hall of Fame".
That's about as high as the praise can get from one of your peers.
Shanahan was the first head coach to beat the combination of Belichick and Tom Brady in the postseason when the Broncos knocked the New England Patriots out of the playoffs with a 27-13 win in the divisional round following the 2005 regular season.
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Shanahan had 170 career wins, which currently sits in a tie at No. 17 on the all-time list. But only eight coaches have won back-to-back Super Bowls. Five of them are already in the Hall of Fame. The other two, aside from Shanahan, are Belichick and Andy Reid, two shoo-ins for the Hall. That, more than anything, should get Shanahan in.
Shanahan will turn 73 years old later this month. With Belichick a likely entry in 2026, the committee may not want to put in more than one head coach. But it would be nice for Shanahan to be given this honor soon, so that he can celebrate it with his family, friends, peers and former players.
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