Former Raiders head coach and NFL legend Tom Flores is one step closer to being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Wednesday afternoon, David Baker, President and CEO of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, called Flores to notify him that he's been nominated as a finalist for the Gold Jacket Club.
Take a look:
Flores has been lauded as one of the best coaches of all time for decades, breaking barriers by becoming the first Latino head coach, as well as the first Latino head coach to win a Super Bowl, but he's never received the recognition he deserves.
Flores is currently the No. 1 coach among the 2021 finalists, according to Baker, so it seems his chances of finally being inducted have increased compared to years past; however, there's still no reason it should take this long for Flores to have his bust made.
There are numerous factors that weigh into the Hall of Fame committee's selection process, which you can view below:
To be elected to the Hall of Fame, Flores must receive the same 80 percent voting support by the entire 48-member Selection Committee on "Selection Saturday." The Hall's Selection Committee, at its annual meeting to be held on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021 in Tampa, Fla., will consider 18 finalists, including a Senior (Drew Pearson, also named Tuesday), a Coach (Flores) and a Contributor (to be named Tuesday, Aug. 25), and 15 Modern-Era Finalists (to be determined from a preliminary list announced on September 16; trimmed to 25 semifinalists in November and to 15 finalists in January).
Current bylaws call for a class no smaller than four or larger than eight. Flores will be voted on for election independent of the other finalists.
