The Pro Football Hall of Fame is in the midst of culling its 50-member committee of voters down to 28, a move seemingly made in response to Bill Belichick’s shocking snub in his first year of eligibility earlier this year.
Several of the names that missed the cut have already gone public. Houston’s John McClain received a call from the Hall informing him he’d no longer be part of the selection committee after 33 years of service. Later, Tennessee’s Paul Kuharsky revealed he was among those cut.
Now, Kuharsky has published a list of 19 of the 22 names that the Hall of Fame has informed would no longer be part of the selection committee under its new bylaws. Among those removed from the committee are Hall of Fame coach and former NBC Sports analyst Tony Dungy and ESPN reporter Lisa Salters, both of whom served as voters for six years.
Other notable names include longtime Dallas Cowboys writer Rick Gosselin, who spent a whopping 31 years on the selection committee, Cleveland radio personality Tony Grossi, who also served as a voter for 31 years, former NFL executive Bill Polian, a voter for six years, and Cleveland Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot, an 11-year selection committee member.
Below is the full list of the 19 known names removed from Hall of Fame voting, courtesy of Kuharsky:
- Rick Gosselin
- Frank Cooney
- John McClain
- Tony Grossi
- Ron Borges
- Darin Gantt
- Clark Judge
- Geoff Hobson
- Jason Cole
- Armando Salguero
- Mary Kay Cabot
- Matt Maiocco
- Tony Dungy
- Bill Polian
- Lisa Salters
- Joel Bussert
- Paul Gutierrez
- Rich Cimini
- Paul Kuharsky
That leaves three Hall of Fame selectors that have also been removed, but are not yet known.
Per Kuharsky, among the 28 known to remain on the selection committee are Jim Trotter, Mike Sando, Charean Williams, Calvin Watkins, Gary Myers, Jeff Legwold, Ira Kaufman, Howard Balzer, and Vahe Gregorian. Notably, Gregorian acknowledged he did not vote for Belichick in his first year of eligibility, instead prioritizing the senior candidates in the Seniors/Coach/Contributor category that Belichick was in.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.