Former Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren is in the mix for the Pro Football Hall of Fame again, landing among five finalists in the Coach category for the Class of 2027.
Holmgren is joined by Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin, Dan Reeves and Mike Shanahan, according to the Canton, Ohio-based Hall, which announced the list Thursday. The five were chosen from an original pool of 14 nominees by the Hall’s coaching subcommittee, and that group will now narrow it down to one candidate for the full selection committee to consider in early 2027.
Holmgren’s case is built on a strong Seattle run and a decorated overall coaching résumé. He took the Seahawks to their first Super Bowl appearance in the 2005 season and spent 10 seasons in Seattle, going 90-80 including the playoffs. During that stretch, he won five division titles and made six postseason trips.
Across 17 seasons as a head coach with Seattle and Green Bay, Holmgren finished 174-122 in the postseason included. He won a Super Bowl with the Packers in 1996 and also earned two Super Bowl rings as an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers.
Belichick is back in the conversation after reaching this stage last year, though he was not elected in his first year of eligibility. The six-time Super Bowl champion’s omission drew heavy criticism around the NFL.
“If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, there’s really no coach that should ever be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, which is completely ridiculous because people deserve it. He’s incredible,” Tom Brady said.
Belichick and Brady won six Super Bowls together with the New England Patriots, and Belichick also claimed two titles as a defensive assistant with the New York Giants. His resume also includes the 2007 “Spygate” scandal, when the Patriots were fined $500,000 after being caught filming defensive signals from the New York Jets during a game.
Belichick’s final season in New England came in 2023, and he is now in his second season coaching in college at North Carolina.
Coughlin’s Hall case is built on two Super Bowl wins with the Giants, both against Belichick, Brady and the Patriots. He went 182-157 over 20 seasons with the Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars, and also won a title as a Giants assistant.
Reeves compiled a 201-174-2 record in 23 seasons with the Broncos, Giants and Falcons. He took Denver to the Super Bowl three times and Atlanta once, finishing 0-4 in those appearances. He also won a championship as an assistant with the Dallas Cowboys.
Shanahan, meanwhile, won back-to-back Super Bowls with Denver and posted a 178-144 record in 20 seasons with the Broncos and Washington Redskins. He also won a title as an assistant with the 49ers.
The Hall also moved five contributors forward on Wednesday: Ralph Hay, Robert Kraft, Virginia McCaskey, Doug Williams and John Wooten.
From here, the final list of 15 candidates will include one contributor, one coach and 13 modern-era players. That pool will then be cut to 10 and then seven.
A 25-person selection committee can vote for six people, with 80% support required. The Hall said that process is expected to produce anywhere from three to seven enshrinees, with five or six the most likely outcome.
The Class of 2027 will be revealed at “NFL Honors” in Los Angeles in February and enshrined next August in Canton.
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