San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Raiders: Titlewinning coach Flores joins Woodson in Canton
The coach and the cornerback will be in Canton.
Saturday was a big day for the Raiders as Tom Flores, who led the franchise to two of its three Super Bowl titles, and defensive back Charles Woodson, the only player in NFL history with at least 50 interceptions and 20 sacks, were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Flores and Woodson, who spent 11 of his 18 seasons in Oakland, share a Raiders connection. However, they took far different paths to the
Hall: Flores, 83, coached his last NFL game in 1994 and Woodson, 44, was a firstballot selection.
The selection of Flores, one of the 13 coaches to win multiple Super Bowls, has historical significance. In 1960, with the Raiders, he became the first Latino quarterback in NFL history. He later became the first minority head coach to win a Super Bowl and was the league’s first minority general manager when he joined the Seahawks’ front office in 1989.
Flores discovered he’d been
elected to the Hall last week. He found out when Hall of Fame president David Baker knocked on the door of his home in Indian Wells (Riverside County). Flores, via a video released by the Raiders, said it was rare for him to be at a loss for words.
“It’s just an honor to be in that room,” Flores said to Baker. “Knowing that you’re going to be there forever.”
Flores also won a Super Bowl as a backup QB with the Chiefs and as wide receivers coach with the Raiders. Only Flores and Mike Ditka have won Super Bowl rings as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
Flores’ 10year playing career, the first seven of which were spent with the Raiders, bolstered his candidacy. He was one of 20 players to be in the AFL for its entire existence and ranks fifth in AFL history in passing yards.
However, Flores’ crowning football achievements came as the Raiders head coach, winning Super Bowls after the 1980 and ’83 seasons. He is the second winningest coach (8353) in franchise history behind John Madden, had an 83 postseason record and was the AFC Coach of the Year in 1983.
Flores had been one of five of the 13 coaches to win at least two Super Bowls who was not in the Hall. The others are the 49ers’ George Seifert, Mike Shanahan, Tom Coughlin and Bill Belichick, who is active.
Flores, who was named a finalist by the Hall’s Coach Committee, received some notable public backing leading up to his election. It included a series of commercials and an online petition by Coors Light and a resolution by the California Latino Legislative Caucus.
Meanwhile, there was no such buildup to Woodson’s election, which was a formality after his decorated career. Woodson, who spent seven seasons with the Packers between stints with the Raiders, is tied for fifth in NFL history in interceptions (65) and is tied for first with Rod Woodson and Darren Sharper in defensive touchdowns (13).
Woodson, a ninetime Pro Bowl selection and a fourtime, firstteam AllPro, was the 1998 Defensive Rookie of the Year and the 2009 Defensive Player of the Year. He was named to the NFL’s 2000s AllDecade team.
His entry to the Hall was hardly a surprise, but Woodson, after being informed by Baker, broke down sobbing in a video the Raiders released after his election was announced Saturday.
Woodson, the No. 4 pick in 1998 from Michigan, is the 10th Heisman Trophy winner in the Hall of Fame.