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Buddy Parker, a two-time championship coach, got the nod over Kraft.
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Patriots owner Robert Kraft will have to wait at least another year to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame announced Wednesday that it selected former Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers coach Buddy Parker as its finalist in the coach/contributor category.
Before practice on Wednesday, Patriots coach Bill Belichick told reporters that he had his fingers crossed for Kraft, who was selected as a semifinalist last month.
But, the vote did not go in Kraft’s favor.
Parker, who coached 15 seasons in the NFL, has a pair of championships and a 107-76-9 overall record. He is credited as an early innovator in the game. According to the post on the Hall of Fame’s website, his Detroit Lions teams adopted an early version of the two-minute offense.
Parker, who died in 1982, will be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame if he receives 80 percent of the upcoming vote at the selection meeting early next year.
Kraft and Parker were among a pool of semifinalists including: Tom Coughlin, Mike Holmgren, Frank “Bucko” Kilroy, Dan Reeves, Art Rooney Jr., Marty Schottenheimer, Mike Shanahan, Clark Shaughnessy, Lloyd Wells and John Wooten.
Kraft, 82, purchased the Patriots in 1994. He has won six Super Bowls as an owner. After threatening to move the team to Hartford, he ended up keeping the Patriots based in Foxborough and building one of the premier dynasties in NFL.
According to the Hall of Fame’s website, there are 31 contributors who have been enshrined, including several owners. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is among them.
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Originally posted 2023-08-16 17:55:57.