Former Chiefs Coach Dick Vermeil Selected as Hall of Fame Finalist
(AP) – Super Bowl-winning coach Dick Vermeil is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s class of 2022.
Vermeil won 120 games in the regular season, leading the Philadelphia Eagles (1980) and St. Louis Rams (1999) to Super Bowl appearances. His “Greatest Show on Turf” Rams won the Super Bowl 23-16 over Tennessee.
Vermeil came to the Eagles from UCLA in 1976 and got long-struggling Philadelphia into the playoffs in his third season and Super Bowl two years after that where he lost to Branch and the Raiders 27-10.
He stepped away from coaching following the 1982 season and became a broadcaster before returning to the sideline in 1997 in St. Louis.
He once again quickly revived a downtrodden franchise and delivered the Rams their first Super Bowl title in his third season with one of the most prolific offenses led by Hall of Famers Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, and Isaac Bruce.
He left the Rams after that Super Bowl and finished his coaching career with a five-year stint in Kansas City starting in 2001.
He posted double-digit wins in six of 15 seasons and had a .524 career winning percentage.
“I am overwhelmed. I’m not sure I belong there,” Vermeil said of the Hall of Fame upon hearing the news of his finalist status from Baker. He said the coach committee had his “deepest appreciation and gratitude.”
The selection committee will also consider 15 modern-era finalists and one contributor, who will be named on Aug. 31.
The preliminary list of modern-era candidates will be picked in September, then trimmed to 25 semifinalists in November and the 15 finalists in January.
The Class of 2022 will be formally enshrined next summer in Canton, Ohio.
