Hall Voter: Lynch Hurt His Cause
January 31st, 2017
Did John Lynch hinder his chance of being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
Immediately Sunday night, when it was learned Bucs great and FOX NFL analyst John Lynch was hired by 49ers embattled shotcaller Jed York as the team’s new general manager, Joe was flooded with Twitters suggesting Lynch may have Pearl Harbored his shot to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.
Joe couldn’t believe this notion.
But later that night, while speaking with the man who will present Lynch for election Saturday, the Custodian of Canton, JoeBucsFan.com columnist eye-RAH! Kaufman, eye-RAH! was also sweating bullets.
Why?
Well, Joe found out why last night.
Covering “Super Bowl Opening Night” at Minute Maid Park in downtown Houston (nee: Media Day), Joe spoke with a Hall of Fame voter who suggested eye-RAH! has every reason to sweat.
This voter told Joe that Lynch indeed hurt his chances of enshrinement by returning to the NFL. Joe was told by this voter that, in general, the Hall of Fame voters do not like to enshrine “active” candidates, meaning guys still employed in the NFL. And there is precedent.
The voter told Joe one reason Bill Parcells waited so long was that he was gainfully employed, albeit as an NFL suit.
While Joe understands this, it is a bit different with Lynch. There was always a chance Parcells would return to coaching. He did so twice after saying he was done when he left the Giants.
Parcells was not a candidate as a player, but a coach. Lynch is a candidate as a player, not a coach. He will never return to the football field as a player.
Joe spoke with six of the 46 voters, over 10 percent. One was certain Lynch hurt his chances by taking the 49ers gig. Another believed it would hurt Lynch, but shouldn’t, adding that when paring down the candidates from 15 to 10 to the final five, when it comes to a virtual coin flip, some voters are looking for an excuse not to vote for Candidate-X to try to separate five from the group of 15 or 10. That’s understandable.
One voter said eliminating Lynch because he took a front office job “is just ridiculous.” Another was flabbergasted anyone would suggest such a thing. Five voters said Lynch taking a general manager’s job will not change their minds in any way whether to vote for Lynch Saturday or not. Of those five, Joe sensed four were in favor of Lynch with a fifth on the fence.
All suggested eye-RAH! has a tough task Saturday, no matter if Lynch kept his job at FOX or took the 49ers job.
January 31st, 2017 at 5:22 am
I dont get why it should matter. Best of luck to Ira tho
January 31st, 2017 at 5:33 am
This “shouldn’t” hurt his chances, but will it? We shall see.
January 31st, 2017 at 6:35 am
Dumb!!
January 31st, 2017 at 6:55 am
So, I guess if he owned a doughnut shop in Nowheresville, U.S., he would have a better chance to be honored as a football player? This article, on the surface, makes no sense at all. However, if any voter is swayed by current employment affecting past playing performance, they should be forced to give up their right to vote on the grounds they are too stupid to live.
January 31st, 2017 at 7:29 am
I can understand that. He would have been better off taking that counter job at McDonald’s.
January 31st, 2017 at 8:07 am
I believe he lost his shot at the hall until the Old Timers subcommittee puts him in 20 or so years from now.
He WILL make it in, but not this year, not with that other safety from the Eagles up for enshrinement, it was going to have been a very close vote before he ruffled some feathers in the media.
January 31st, 2017 at 8:20 am
JA
Thats how it should be, but its not, unfortunately. The first thing i thought of when i heard he was named gm was….well there goes his hall chances. Hope im wrong but from what ive seen over the years thats the way it is. He should have waited another week for the voting before they announced the hiring
January 31st, 2017 at 8:30 am
So you’re telling me that if Peyton Manning had taken the Colts job, he wouldn’t be a first ballot HOFer? That’s is as ridiculous as it sounds.
January 31st, 2017 at 8:30 am
I don’t think Lynch should get in ahead of Dawkins. And it’s ludicrous to say Lynch was the leader of the Tampa 2. Just because he had sound bites in the Super Bowl doesn’t mean he was the leader. That would have been Mr Brooks and Sapp. Heck, there’s two more on his own team that should get in before him, much less other safetys.
January 31st, 2017 at 9:47 am
Chris
Nor should Lynch get in before Atwater
January 31st, 2017 at 10:15 am
Im sure Petey King is licking his chops, armed with all he needs to get Brian Dawkins in there. North east fans are the only real fans!
January 31st, 2017 at 10:44 am
I agree that Brooks was the leader.
Sapp was the fire.
Lynch was the bullet.
January 31st, 2017 at 10:46 am
Let’s be honest though, John knows getting in is a longshot right now anyway. Was he supposed to walk away from millions for a yellow jacket that he’d probably get later anyway?
January 31st, 2017 at 10:47 am
Also, I think if he can do well as a GM, it will increase his chances of getting in later.
January 31st, 2017 at 10:48 am
Who knows? Maybe one day he’ll become a Bucs GM? hehehehe
January 31st, 2017 at 10:53 am
Gold jackets were rendered meaningless just like pro bowls when the mediocre, one dimensional head coach with a CAREER LOSING playoff record was wrongly enshrined in hall of fame ahead of much more qualified and deserving coaches. The legend of Dungy far exceeds his actual accomplishments. Hall of fame and the used car salesman voting are a joke and an embarrassment to the extinct journalism profession. Hall was for the best of the best not feel good stories and popular losers. Now it’s just
laughable
January 31st, 2017 at 1:12 pm
This makes ZERO sense. Doesn’t Lynch getting chosen as a GM just highlight how cerebral and knowledgable he was as a player. Now you’re telling me that one of the hardest hitting safeties in the league who was a leader on one of the best all-time defenses was also one of the game’s most cerebral and knowledgeable players?
Yeah, sounds horrible.
Just proves that voters are just as unreliable to whims and “coin flips” as ever.
January 31st, 2017 at 2:23 pm
So, there’s no logic behind it. It’s completely arbitrary. Let’s hope the HOF voters are smarter than that.
January 31st, 2017 at 8:21 pm
Tmax, you are freaking insane if you think Dungy was undeserving.