Zach Thomas hears from Hall of Fame. Optimism about eventual induction remains high
Zach Thomas is calling and my heart sinks.
I know the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s timing for telling its Class of 2021 inductees the good news that they’ve been selected and this call doesn’t coincide with that timing.
So I answer the phone and, sure enough, it’s not good news. Thomas tells me he just got off a call with David Baker, the Hall’s president and CEO, and was informed he is not one of the five modern-era finalists to make it this year.
So, bitter disappointment.
But here is one of the many things that makes Zach Thomas special: He spends the next five minutes or so encouraging me. He uses that self-deprecating humor of his, talking about how he’s already won by being mentioned in the company of Hall of Famers.
He’s reassuring me everything will be alright.
The guy just got what is obviously discouraging news and he is consoling me.
So classy.
“I know you’re very competitive and take this personal but I’m feeling pretty good about things and you should, too,” Thomas says. “The phone call with David Baker this year was different than last year, I’m telling you.
“He talked about next year in Los Angeles and, honestly man, that sounds kind of good to me. I feel good about this.”
Next year, Super Bowl 56 will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA., which is maybe 12 miles from downtown Los Angeles. And the night before that game, the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022 will be announced -- just as the Class of ‘21 was announced on Super Bowl eve on Saturday.
And Thomas is optimistic that will be his time and his turn to make it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
This, by the way, is new.
With the help of Dolphins digital and print media editor Scott Stone and approval from Thomas, I’ve been working on the Thomas Hall of Fame candidacy for three years now. And I had never heard Thomas seem so hopeful as he is now.
The first year Thomas made it to the top 25.
Then he made it to the top 15 -- which put him in the room, so to speak, to be presented to the panel of selectors.
This year he returned to the top 15, in the room, and advanced to the top 10 for the second year in a row.
So next year ...
Go again.
“It was an honor to be among all the worthy finalists,” Thomas said, “and I wish the Class of 2021 my most sincere congratulations.”
So what can possibly change next year that improves Thomas’ chances?
For one thing there won’t be multiple obvious first-ballot Hall of Famers joining the group of eligible players. That was, with all respect to the process, a problem for Thomas this year.
Peyton Manning was eligible for the first time this year and after a seven-second presentation -- presenters get 5 minutes to lay out reasons a player should be selected -- the former Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos quarterback was ultimately voted in.
Charles Woodson was eligible for the first time this year and he understandably raced ahead of other finalists after a stellar 18-year career to also become a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Calvin Johnson was eligible for the first time this year and he rode his supreme talent and supreme statistics to a first-ballot Hall of Fame knock.
My point is there were five modern-era slots that could be filled this year but Manning and Woodson and Johnson immediately shrunk everyone else’s chances. So that left two spots for the remaining 13 modern-era finalists.
Thomas made it past the first cut from 15 to 10. But he obviously didn’t get enough votes to land a spot on the final five.
The dynamics change next year because, looking at the list of newly eligible players, there is no Manning or Woodson that screams he must be selected as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Surely, Andre Johnson, Anquan Bolden, Vince Wilfork, Demarcus Ware and others had amazing careers and will get well-deserved votes as the voting process begins anew next Fall. But not one of those is a sure-bet first-ballot Hall of Famer.
So the available space on the Class of 2021 might grow. It won’t be seven guys fighting for two slots once the first cuts are made.
It more likely will be 10 guys fighting for five spots, which increases everyone’s odds.
It surely increases the odds for Thomas.
That’s not all. Unlike some other finalists, it was clear Thomas was not deemed at the front of the cue for entrance into the Hall this year.
Alan Faneca was a six-time finalist this year. He finally made it this year.
John Lynch was an eight-time finalist this year. He finally made it this year.
This was only the second year for Thomas as a finalist.
So Thomas was neither among the can’t miss first-ballot guys nor among the men whose candidacy has come before selectors a handful of times.
This matters because, believe it or not, presentations often include phrases such as, “it’s his time,” to move selectors to vote for some finalist who has come before the panel over and over and over again.
Thomas won’t be considered in the group of perpetual returnees next year either, as it will only be his third return as a finalist -- assuming he gets that far again. But his candidacy has a measure of respect and acceptance it maybe didn’t have two years ago.
So Zach Thomas is optimistic about what might happen just ahead.
And that makes this year’s rough news more bearable.
This story was originally published February 6, 2021 at 10:27 PM.
