Cowboys Owner JERRY JONES and former NFL Commissioner PAUL TAGLIABUE yesterday were nominated as finalists for the '17 Pro Football HOF class in the "contributor" category, and both must receive 80% of the selection committee's vote "to be elected," according to Clarence Hill Jr. of the FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM. The HOF's selection committee at its annual meeting on the eve of Super Bowl LI will consider 18 finalists, including Jones and Tagliabue, one senior finalist (former Seahawks S KENNY EASLEY), and 15 "modern-era finalists to select a class of no fewer than four or more than eight" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 8/17). Tagliabue said, "I'm deeply appreciative of the vote of confidence from the selection committee" (NFL.com, 8/16). Jones said, "Sometimes those decisions looked like they were totally financial. Sometimes they might have been driven about that, but also from the get-go, if I would have just wanted money I would have kept it. Instead I spent it to be a part of the team. So it wasn't about that. It was about looking for better ways to do it. For whatever reason, I have always had an exaggerated thinking about what our game is and about presenting it, and about what it can be, the aura of it. It was always there." He added, "It's humbling. It really is humbling" (ESPNDALLAS.com, 8/16). Cowboys Exec VP, COO & Dir of Player Personnel STEPHEN JONES, Jerry's son, said, "It's long overdue in my opinion. He's not only been an owner that has had his team, there's only three that have won more Super Bowls than him as an owner. And then of course the business side is, to me, where it really locks in" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 8/17).
STAR OF THE STAR: ESPN DALLAS' Todd Archer noted Jones has "helped turn the Cowboys into one of the most recognizable brands in the world and helped transform the NFL's business model through marketing, television contracts and other sponsorship deals" (ESPNDALLAS.com, 8/16). In Dallas, Rick Gosselin notes the "strength of the Jones candidacy is his impact on the marketing of the NFL," as he "single-handedly altered the NFL's financial dynamic and changed the way the league does business." Jones has "defined the term 'contributor.'" The three Super Bowl trophies "don't hurt his candidacy, either" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 8/17). Also in Dallas, David Moore writes the meaning of Jones' nomination was "enhanced even more by the fact he's still active with the club and the NFL." This "isn't an honor extended at the end of someone's career," as Jones is "in the middle of the action" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 8/17). The STAR-TELEGRAM's Hill writes Jones has "gone from outside maverick to one of the most powerful and influential owners in the NFL" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 8/17).
PRESENT YOUR CASE: YAHOO SPORTS' Eric Edholm wrote Jones and Tagliabue "deserve to be" in the HOF. Jones is "likely the more controversial of the two," although Tagliabue has "been a lukewarm candidate in recent years." But the case for Jones' candidacy is "incredibly strong" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 8/16). NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal wrote Jones is a nominee largely because of his work "behind the scenes." However, being chosen as a finalist "is not a rubber stamp for induction." Tagliabue's name "sparked heated discussions among some selection committee members" (NFL.com, 8/16). FOXSPORTS.com's Andrew Lynch wrote Jones and Tagliabue are "two of the people most responsible for the NFL's growth into a global sports juggernaut" (FOXSPORTS.com, 8/16). In Ft. Worth, Gil Lebreton writes the discussion on Jones' candidacy "could get lively" when the HOF's selection committee meets. Lebreton: "But unless I miss my guess, Jones is a shoo-in. We see him in Texas as part-meddler, part-cartoon character. The rest of the league finds him charming, a playful rogue, a modern day J.R. Ewing" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 8/17). In Newark, James Kratch wrote Jones will "always be a divisive figure" in the NFL. But chances are he will "be a divisive figure who wears a gold jacket in the near future" (NJ.com, 8/16).
WHAT'S THE RUSH? SPORTING NEWS' David Steele wrote no one "should have been in a rush to get either Jones or Tagliabue in." Not if the standard for organization builders and leaders "is created by the likes" of Pro Football HOFers EDDIE DEBARTOLO JR., RON WOLF and BILL POLIAN. Not that Jones and Tagliabue "didn't contribute to the game," but their contribution was "making obscene amounts of money, at all costs, at too steep a price, and with too little regard for anything else except making more." Steele: "Realistically, what is Jones' legacy in the NFL?" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 8/16).
JUST A MATTER OF TIME: Broncos Owner PAT BOWLEN was not named as a finalist for the HOF's '17 class, but The MMQB's Peter King said that Bowlen, who is battling Alzheimer's, "eventually will be enshrined." King: "He's going to get in. I just don't know when." Meanwhile, King said Jones is a "superb candidate." King: "I understand people have problems with him. Pat Bowlen would have been a much easier sell, to the full body and the American public. I could totally understand voting for Pat Bowlen over Jerry Jones" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 8/16). In Colorado Springs, Woody Paige writes the voters who "snubbed Bowlen voted irresponsibly." Tagliabue "seemed an underwhelming, but understandable, pick after being brushed aside by for years." Bowlen "seemed the other logical selection." Inducting Bowlen into the HOF next summer "would have provided a heightened awareness for Alzheimer's." Paige: "There is no Hall pass for the committee's mistake" (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 8/17). In Denver, Nicki Jhabvala notes there was hope Bowlen's "success with the Broncos, negotiations on NFL broadcasting and labor deals, contributions to the game’s international growth and involvement in local charities would not be ignored" (DENVER POST, 8/17).
SAY WHAT? Former Chargers GM BOBBY BEATHARD was also not named as a finalist, and in San Diego, Nick Canepa writes the "only sane answer to this insanity" is that Beathard was a "mad dictator in another life and has been found out." Canepa: "Let's not say he's been blackballed from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, although something's fishier and smellier than a dead carp. Really. Please explain. Just what did he do?" It "has to go beyond GM-envy." Tagliabue meanwhile "has no chance with West Coast voters, with a whole lot of voters." In his 17 years as commissioner, he "basically ignored the West" and he "slammed San Diego" before Super Bowl XXXVII. And Jones has "never won anything" former coach JIMMY JOHNSON "didn't create." Canepa: "These two, and not Beathard?" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 8/17).
