Tom Flores elected to the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021

San Diego Chargers vs. Los Angeles Raiders
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Tom Flores’ wait has ended.

The former Raiders and Seahawks head coach has earned election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2021. The new class is being announced during the NFL Honors show Saturday night.

Flores, elected as the only coach finalist on the ballot, was the first Hispanic quarterback to win a Super Bowl ring and the first minority head coach to win a Lombardi Trophy. His Raiders won Super Bowl XV and Super Bowl XVIII.

Flores won Super Bowl IV as a backup quarterback for the Chiefs and Super Bowl XI as an assistant coach of the Raiders. Mike Ditka is the only other person in NFL history to win a Super Bowl as a player, assistant coach and head coach.

The coaching category is a new addition to the ballot, with Jimmy Johnson and Bill Cowher earning election in the expanded class last year.

Flores went 91-56 in nine years with the Raiders. He also had an 8-3 record in the postseason.

Flores, who turns 84 next month, finished his head coaching career in Seattle. He went only 14-34 in three years with the Seahawks, and the team fired him after the 1994 season.

His election leaves George Seifert, Mike Shanahan and Tom Coughlin as the only retired coaches with multiple Super Bowl titles not voted into the Hall of Fame. (Bill Belichick also isn’t in but obviously is still active.)

24 responses to “Tom Flores elected to the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021

  1. Long overdue .. So glad he’s still alive to experience it. I was worried they were gonna wait till he passed ala Stabler.

  2. Good news for Flores. He deserved it as a coach.

    Don Coryell, Chuck Knox, Dan Reeves, and Marty Schottenheimer all deserve inclusion too.

  3. Buddy Parker who won two championships with the Lions before the Super Bowl also awaits induction for Canton. I predict he goes in next Feb …

  4. Did more with less than Belichick could ever dream, he truly belongs in the Hall

  5. Glad to see he finally was inducted into the Hall of Fame! First and so far only Hispanic to win A Super Bowel. Long overdue and as a Hispanic I can say hearing the news about him getting in the Pro Football Hall Of Fame made my night. I also have seen the new Coors Light Commercial acknowledging he made it into Hall Of Fame and its awesome! Congrats Flores!

  6. Who wsa talking about Calvin Johnson in the hOF? If Cal J gets in – just close it.

  7. Winning 2 Super Bowls without a hall of fame quarterback puts Flores above Coughlin, Shanahan and Seifert.

    Only Gibbs and Parcels have pulled off that feat.

  8. Not a HOFer. Yes, he had success with the Raiders and won a pair of titles but was MISERABLE as coach and GM of Seahawks. (14-34 as coach) and 37-59 as exec. 97-87 overall coaching record. Had FOUR really good seasons.. That is not HOF worthy..To me, HOF means sustained excellence.

  9. I see mile high running his mouth again, Flores had the same type career as Bill Parcells, they both won two Super Bowls and then did nothing after that, Yet people seem to worship Parcells because he was a loud mouth

  10. Glad to see Tom Flores get his HOF due while he’s still around to celebrate it. I’ve heard it said that despite his success with the Raiders the bad record in Seattle should be counted against Flores but that’s nonsense because a HC like Hank Stram got into the HOF based on his record with the Chiefs and the fact that he failed with the Saints didn’t count against him.

    The Super Bowl 18 team was very talented but my favorite Flores coached Raider team was the Suber Bowl 15 champs. That 1980 team was picked by the “experts” for last in the AFCW after the Stabler trade and a lot of roster changes but played with as much heart as any team I’ve ever seen and was the first Wild Card team to win a Lombardi.

  11. MortimerInMiami says:
    February 7, 2021 at 7:10 am

    Now head coaches with a winning percentage of 500 are getting in too?

    ====================

    I guess it still must hurt that Flores went 5-0 against Shula’s Dolphins while Flores was coaching the Raiders.

  12. Yes Tom Flores didn’t have a good tenure in Seattle, but most Seattle fans would chalk that up to the skinflint owner we had here at the time, Ken Behring. We knew all too well what a good coach Flores was, having had to play against his team twice a year for many years.

  13. Now we need Cliff Branch, Jack Tatum, Lester Hayes, Greg Townsend, Matt Millen to get voted in.

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