Two figures with ties to the Dallas Cowboys have been named finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, one a sure thing and the other anything but.
The sure thing is Bill Parcells, who served as the Cowboys’ head coach from 2003 through 2006, a tenure that will be little more than an afterthought in the grand scope of Parcells’ head coaching career. Parcells won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants, in 1986 and 1990, before moving onto jobs with the Patriots, the Jets, Dallas and eventually the Dolphins.
This is technically Parcells first year of eligibility, since a rule was put in place requiring head coaches to wait five years after their coaching career is over to be eligible.
Charles Haley is a finalist again as well, and the one we referenced as anything but a sure thing. Haley is the only player in NFL history to have won five Super Bowl rings, but his tense relationship with the media, and in some cases fellow players, haven’t helped his cause.
As Tim McMahon of ESPN Dallas points out today, one of the reasons Jerry Jones put Haley in the Ring of Honor this past season (despite the fact that Haley played only five seasons for the team) was to send a message to Hall of Fame voters.
We’ll see if that does the trick, but any optimism we might have is highly guarded, based on Haley’s past snubs.
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