QB Kurt Warner, who went from bagging groceries to NFL MVP, is the only QB to make it as a Hall of Fame semifinalist this year.
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The Pro Football Hall of Fame has named its 26 semifinalists for the 2015 class. Among the marquee names are 12-time Pro Bowl LB Junior Seau, former Buccaneers and Colts head coach Tony Dungy, and 2-time NFL MVP and Superbowl 34 MVP Kurt Warner.
The selection committee for the Hall of Fame narrowed the selection down from over a hundred to a group of 26, with the
Warner joined the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in 1998 and became the starter in 1999. That year he became only the 2nd QB in NFL history to throw for over 40 TDs, and he helped lead the Rams on a 9-game turnaround to clinch the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs and ultimately win their first Superbowl in a Superbowl XXXIV win over the Tennessee Titans. He led the Rams to the Superbowl against in 2001, but lost to Tom Brady and the Patriots. He joined the Arizona Cardinals in 2005 and became the full-time starter in 2008 – that year he led the Cardinals to the division title and they went to the Superbowl, narrowly losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Superbowl XLIII.
Seau was drafted No. 5 overall by the San Diego Chargers in 1990 and made 12 Pro Bowls and was a 9-time All-Pro selection. He was the 1994 Walter Payton Man of the Year and was named to the 1990s All-Decade teams. His jersey #55 was retired by the Chargers and he was inducted into the team Hall of Fame in 2011. Seau committed suicide in May 2012 after a self-inflicted gunshot wound that may have been triggered by his CTE.
Tony Dungy took the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the playoffs in four of his six seasons with the team before being fired and joining the Indianapolis Colts. As head coach of the Colts, Dungy joined QB Peyton Manning and won five consecutive division titles, finishing with 12 or more wins in six straight seasons. Dungy won Superbowl XLI against the Chicago Bears, becoming the first African-American head coach in NFL history to coach a Superbowl winning team. His .668 winning percentage in third highest in NFL history among coaches that coached at least 200 games.
The other nominees are:
WR: Marvin Harrison, Tim Brown and 1st-year eligible receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt
RB: Jerome Bettis, Terrell Davis, Roger Craig and 1st-year eligible RB Edgerrin James
Safety: John Lynch, Darren Woodson and Steve Atwater
DE/LB: Charles Haley and Kevin Greene
LB: Karl Mecklenburg
CB: Ty Law
OT: Joe Jacoby, Mike Kenn and 1st-year eligible OT Orlando Pace
G: Will Shields
C: 1st-year eligible C Kevin Mawae
K: Morten Andersen
Coaches: Don Coryell and Jimmy Johnson
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