Two-time Super Bowl-winning coaches Tom Coughlin, Mike Shanahan, and George Seifert are among the candidates being considered for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
Another Super Bowl champion, Mike Holmgren, also made the list on Thursday, as the Hall’s nine-member Blue Ribbon committee for coaches narrowed down the candidates to 12.
In the coming weeks, the committee will reduce the list to nine semifinalists before choosing one finalist to go before the Hall’s full selection committee early next year.
This one coaching finalist will be considered alongside one contributor and three senior candidates. Between one and three of these five finalists will be selected for the Hall, requiring at least 80% of the votes from the full committee.
Coughlin, Shanahan, and Seifert are among the 14 coaches who have won multiple Super Bowls. Nine of these coaches are already in the Hall, while Bill Belichick and Andy Reid are not yet eligible.
Coughlin coached for 20 years with Jacksonville and the New York Giants. He took the Jaguars to the AFC title game in their second season as a franchise and again in 1999. His biggest success came when he became the Giants’ head coach in 2004.
He led the team to a Super Bowl title in the 2007 season, defeating the undefeated Patriots, and then beat Belichick, Tom Brady, and New England again four years later. Coughlin finished with a 170-150 record in regular-season games.
Seifert contributed to San Francisco’s success by winning two titles as a defensive coordinator under Bill Walsh and then two more as head coach after taking over from Walsh in 1989.
He won at least 10 games in all eight seasons as head coach of the 49ers, with a 98-30 record (.766), the best for any coach with a single team who has coached at least 100 games. However, he couldn’t replicate that success during three seasons with Carolina, finishing with a 16-32 record.
Shanahan was the offensive coordinator under Seifert on San Francisco’s 1994 championship team and later won back-to-back titles as head coach in Denver in 1997 and 1998. He ended his career with a 170-138 record with the Raiders, Broncos, and Washington.
His influence on the game remains strong today through his former assistants, including his son, Kyle, who coaches in San Francisco.
Four current NFL head coaches also worked under Shanahan in Washington: Sean McVay, Mike McDaniel, Matt LaFleur, and Raheem Morris. The offensive system he introduced, which combines the outside zone run with the passing game, is still the most common in the league today.
Holmgren was the offensive coordinator before Shanahan in San Francisco and also greatly influenced future coaches. Reid and Jon Gruden both won Super Bowls after working under Holmgren in Green Bay.
Holmgren had a 161-111 record with the Packers and Seahawks, winning the championship in 1996. He also reached the Super Bowl the following season with Green Bay and again in the 2005 season with Seattle.
Among the other candidates are former coaches Jeff Fisher, who led teams in Houston, Tennessee, and the Rams; Chuck Knox, who won Coach of the Year Awards with the Rams, Bills, and Seahawks; Dan Reeves, who reached four Super Bowls with Denver and Atlanta; and Marty Schottenheimer, who won 200 regular-season games and made the playoffs 13 times in 20 full seasons as head coach in Cleveland, Kansas City, Washington, and San Diego.
The list also includes several coaches known mainly for their roles as assistants: Bill Arnsparger, who was the defensive coordinator for Miami’s perfect team in 1972 and won the Super Bowl the following season; Richie Petitbon, who called the defenses for three Super Bowl champions in Washington; and longtime offensive line coach Alex Gibbs, who helped Denver win two titles in the 1990s and popularized the zone blocking scheme.
The final candidate is the innovative Clark Shaughnessy, who is known as the “father of the T formation” and the three-receiver set during his long career.
This included a time as an adviser to Bears coach George Halas for a 73-0 title game victory over Washington in 1940, two years as head coach of the Rams, and a role as defensive coordinator for Halas in Chicago.
