Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

I always love the list of HoF nominees. Let's give a round of applause to Doug Flutie, Brian Michell, Derrick Mason, Daryl Johnston, and all the other guys who will probably have to wait at least one more year....

And Richie Petitbon, of course.

and they are on the list?

I don't pay much attention until the 25---but it seems to me as long as they played 5 years and got at least one post-season honor, they can be nominated and put on this list, unless, it has changed

They are on the list.

http://www.profootballhof.com/94-modern ... announced/

I know, the first list doesn't mean anything, but there are always a couple of names that are good for a laugh. Sometime around 2000 I remember Barry Foster was on the initial list. It was sweet, really... "Aw, look, Barry's mother cast a ballot!"

What's funny about Richie is that as a player, a nomination wouldn't be anywhere near as ridiculous -- 4 Pro Bowls, 1 All-Pro, 48 INTs that had him in the top 15 when he retired. Don't get me wrong, not close to HoF, but not as howlingly funny as his nomination as a coach.

And then there's the few who might make some sense to nominate who get passed over like Richmond Webb and Ben Coates.

Also, not sure I understand why Richie Petitbon being nominated as a coach is ridiculous.

bachslunch wrote:

Also, not sure I understand why Richie Petitbon being nominated as a coach is ridiculous.

Agreed. Petitbon was DC for all of Gibbs Super Bowl teams which is why he is garnering some consideration.

bachslunch wrote:And then there's the few who might make some sense to nominate who get passed over like Richmond Webb and Ben Coates.

Also, not sure I understand why Richie Petitbon being nominated as a coach is ridiculous.

Perhaps because he was a total flop as a head coach?

rhickok1109 wrote:

bachslunch wrote: Also, not sure I understand why Richie Petitbon being nominated as a coach is ridiculous.

Perhaps because he was a total flop as a head coach?

True, but Clark Shaughnessy was also nominated and would never get a sniff based solely on his head coaching numbers. If it's fair to consider a strong assistant coaching career with minimal head coaching success, both have reasonable arguments. I'm actually fine with both getting in at some point, as well as folks like Buddy Ryan and Bill Arnsparger.

rhickok1109 wrote:Perhaps because he was a total flop as a head coach?

So was Dick Lebeau. But now that they've established that Lebeau is a legitimate Hall of Famer, it seems to me that Petitbon has a very good case -- almost exactly the same case that put Lebeau in. They're a matched set, right down to the French names.

Of course, I think Lebeau's selection was a joke, but obviously the people who count don't share that opinion.

bachslunch wrote:

rhickok1109 wrote:

bachslunch wrote: Also, not sure I understand why Richie Petitbon being nominated as a coach is ridiculous.

Perhaps because he was a total flop as a head coach?

True, but Clark Shaughnessy was also nominated and would never get a sniff based solely on his head coaching numbers. If it's fair to consider a strong assistant coaching career with minimal head coaching success, both have reasonable arguments. I'm actually fine with both getting in at some point, as well as folks like Buddy Ryan and Bill Arnsparger.

Do you really think Petitbon was that good a DC? It seems to me that he was probably a little bit above average, but hardly great. I wouldn't even rate him as very good. For most of his time with the Redskins, he wasn't even the sole DC; he shared the duties with Larry Pecatiello. In his 12 seasons, the defense ranked 16th, 1st, 11th, 11th, 11th, 9th, 6th, 26th, 13th, 13th, 2nd, and 8th. That's fairly good but not exactly overwhelming.

Bob Gill wrote:

rhickok1109 wrote:Perhaps because he was a total flop as a head coach?

So was Dick Lebeau. But now that they've established that Lebeau is a legitimate Hall of Famer, it seems to me that Petitbon has a very good case -- almost exactly the same case that put Lebeau in. They're a matched set, right down to the French names.

Of course, I think Lebeau's selection was a joke, but obviously the people who count don't share that opinion.

If Petitbon was that good a DC, wouldn't he have gotten a job after being fired as HC?