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New York Times
11-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Early 2025 NFL Power Rankings: Where do Eagles, Chiefs stand after Super Bowl?
The NFL has a new champion for the first time in three years after the Philadelphia Eagles dismantled the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX. That means these power rankings will wrap up with a new No. 1 for the first time in a while, but that's not the only change in our rankings as we officially head into the offseason. Advertisement Post-regular season ranking: 4 What's new?: Their place in history It's time to start figuring out where this team ranks among the all-time great Super Bowl champions. The Eagles won 16 of their last 17 games and completely outclassed Kansas City on Sunday. They led the league in point differential (228) with the seventh-highest margin since 2000; they were the only team to finish the season in the top six in both offensive and defensive total expected points added, and they had more points (24) than the Chiefs had yards (23) in the first half of the Super Bowl. Post-regular season ranking: 3 What's new?: The Patrick Mahomes conversation Sunday night doesn't dilute any of Mahomes' remarkable accomplishments, but the Kansas City quarterback played poorly enough that we have to hit pause on the Mahomes versus Tom Brady lifetime achievement comparisons for now. Through three quarters against the Eagles, Mahomes had 148 yards passing, one touchdown and two interceptions. He carried a flawed team to a 17-2 record heading into the Super Bowl and then all of a sudden looked exhausted by the effort that took. GO DEEPER Patrick Mahomes' legacy, a shaken Chiefs dynasty and what comes next: Sando's Pick Six Post-regular season ranking: 2 What's new?: Josh Allen's trophy case The Bills quarterback won his first league MVP trophy last week, perhaps soothing the sting of a season that ended in an AFC Championship Game loss to the Chiefs. The 28-year-old has more wins (76), total touchdowns (262) and total yards (30,595) than any player in league history in the first seven years of his career, and he gave us the best MVP congratulations video in history. Josh's reaction to his MVP video is everything. 🥹#NFLHonors | #BillsMafia — Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) February 7, 2025 Post-regular season ranking: 1 What's new?: The coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn are gone, to the Bears and the Jets, respectively. In their place, Dan Campbell has hired John Morton to run the offense and promoted Kelvin Sheppard to run the defense. Detroit has won 27 games in the last two regular seasons combined, but this transition will be one of the toughest tests of Campbell's tenure, which enters Year 5 next season. Advertisement Post-regular season ranking: 6 What's new?: Todd Monken's paycheck It's been a pretty quiet month in Baltimore, but the offensive coordinator did get a contract extension after taking head coaching interviews with the Bears, Jaguars and Raiders. The Ravens led the NFL in yards per play (6.8) and expected points added per play (.16) this season, and Monken might get another round of interviews next year if that momentum continues. Since 2018, he has been offensive coordinator for the Buccaneers, Browns, University of Georgia and the Ravens. Post-regular season ranking: 7 What's new?: Not the team name Owner Josh Harris said Washington is 'going with' its current nickname into the future. There was plenty of speculation that Harris would make a change quickly after he bought the team. Next season will be Washington's fourth under the Commanders banner. The team spent two years as the Washington Football Team after dropping 'Redskins' following the 2019 season. GO DEEPER Nick Sirianni was a 'hothead-in-a-headset.' Now he's a Super Bowl champion Post-regular season ranking: 9 What's new?: Cooper Kupp's exit plan Kupp is on his way out of Los Angeles, and he's not terribly happy about it. The eight-year veteran announced last week that the Rams were trying to trade him and that he 'didn't agree' with the decision. It's a cutthroat decision by L.A., but Kupp has a nearly $30 million salary-cap hit this year and hasn't played more than 12 games in a season since his 2021 triple crown year. Post-regular season ranking: 5 What's new?: The quarterback talk After sitting out his rookie season with a knee injury, J.J. McCarthy sounds ready to supplant Sam Darnold if Minnesota is ready to make the move. 'All I can ask for is a fair opportunity,' McCarthy said on 'The Rich Eisen Show' last week. 'That's the one that I feel like everybody's given and it's fundamental. When money gets involved, things get complicated, and reps get skewed and there's different things that come into the whole 'political' world that everyone talks about. But I really just have to focus on controlling what I can control.' Now the ball is in the Vikings' court. Advertisement Post-regular season ranking: 8 What's new?: Matt LaFleur's dartboard art Imagine the Packers head coach just hanging out one day while Ben Johnson is being introduced as the new Bears head coach when this comment from Johnson floods the internet: I 'kind of enjoyed beating Matt LaFleur twice a year.' Maybe that will reignite this rivalry because, as Packers fans were quick to point out, Johnson's new team has beaten Green Bay only twice in the last nine seasons. Post-regular season ranking: 15 What's new?: The offensive coordinator Houston fired its former 49ers assistant, Bobby Slowik, as offensive coordinator and replaced him with a former Rams assistant, Nick Caley. This is how offensive coordinator hiring in the NFL goes now — try a Niners guy or try a Rams guy. Caley needed only two years under Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay to get his coordinator job. He spent the previous eight seasons in New England. GO DEEPER 2025 NFL Mock Draft: After Super Bowl LIX, how might first three rounds look? Post-regular season ranking: 11 What's new?: Liam Coen's legacy in the office The Buccaneers have a new offensive coordinator — Josh Grizzard — after losing their last one in a messy breakup with Coen, who agreed to a deal to remain in Tampa before circling back to take the Jacksonville head coaching job. Grizzard will be Baker Mayfield's third offensive coordinator in as many years after the quarterback helped get both Coen and Dave Canales head coaching jobs. Post-regular season ranking: 10 What's new?: The Justin Herbert debate Just when the Chargers quarterback was starting to get more believers on his bandwagon, he had a disastrous playoff performance against the Texans, throwing four interceptions in a 32-12 loss. Herbert, who still doesn't have a playoff victory, starts getting expensive this year. His cap hit is scheduled to be between $37 million and $71 million per season through the 2029 season. Advertisement Post-regular season ranking: 12 What's new?: The defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo ran the defense in Cincinnati for six seasons, which feels like forever for an NFL coordinator, but he was fired in January. He'll be replaced by the man who was his linebackers coach from 2020 to 2021 — Al Golden. It's Golden's first coordinator job in the NFL. He comes most recently from Notre Dame, where he helped the Irish reach the CFP championship game this year. Post-regular season ranking: 13 What's new?: Sean Payton's wish list The Broncos head coach already has told everyone this offseason that he's looking for a 'joker' for next year's team. In Payton's offense, that's a running back or tight end who is dynamic enough in the passing game to create matchup problems. Could Penn State tight end Tyler Warren be the answer? Will he be available when the Broncos pick at No. 20? GO DEEPER Marchand: Tom Brady brought star power to Super Bowl, but failed to say much Post-regular season ranking: 20 What's new?: Christian McCaffrey's health The running back's father, former NFL wide receiver Ed McCaffrey, told Front Office Sports that his son will be 'fully healthy' by the end of the week and will have a full offseason of training. McCaffrey played only four games in 2024 because of Achilles and calf injuries that at one point cast doubt on his ability to return to top form. That's still to be determined, but the news for now is good. Post-regular season ranking: 14 What's new?: Nothing, ever Mike Tomlin is still the head coach. Teryl Austin is still the defensive coordinator. Arthur Smith is still the offensive coordinator. There probably will be some sort of change at quarterback after owner Art Rooney II said it's 'unlikely' the team would re-sign both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, but that hasn't happened yet. Maybe the best development for Pittsburgh in the last month is Myles Garrett saying he wants out of Cleveland. Advertisement Post-regular season ranking: 16 What's new?: The emphasis on the run game Coach Mike Macdonald got rid of former offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb in part because he wanted to run the ball more. Hiring Klint Kubiak to replace Grubb should help. Alvin Kamara was ninth in the league in carries per game (16.3) with Kubiak calling plays in New Orleans last year. Post-regular season ranking: 17 What's new?: The head coach Brian Schottenheimer got his first head coaching job of any kind when Jerry Jones tabbed him to replace Mike McCarthy. It would have been the most shocking news of the NFL offseason if it hadn't been Jones making the decision. Schottenheimer joined Dallas as an offensive assistant in 2022 and will be entering his fourth season with the Cowboys. That's longer than he's spent on any job except his six-year stint as Jets offensive coordinator from 2006-2011. He's made five coaching stops since then. Post-regular season ranking: 21 What's new?: Kirk Cousins drama The veteran quarterback has had a bumpy road in Atlanta. First, his introductory news conference resulted in a tampering investigation that cost the team a fifth-round pick. Then, the Falcons blindsided him by drafting Michael Penix Jr. eighth. Then, the Falcons benched Cousins in favor of Penix with three games left in the regular season. Finally, last week Cousins said he was hampered by shoulder and elbow injuries through the second half of the season after maintaining throughout the season that he was healthy. If this ends up being Cousins' only year in Atlanta, it will go down as an eventful one. Post-regular season ranking: 19 What's new?: Tyreek Hill's location, maybe The wide receiver will be heading into his 10th season in the fall, and he might be doing it somewhere other than Miami. He suggested as much when the season ended, although he walked that back last week on the 'Up & Adams Show' while apologizing to Tua Tagovailoa and his teammates. Hill is under contract with the Dolphins through 2027 (and his 2026 cap hit is scheduled to be $51.9 million!), but his mercurial nature may be wearing thin. Advertisement Post-regular season ranking: 18 What's new?: Not a lot With just one winning season since 2015, the Cardinals sort of feel like they're sliding into obscurity (as much as any team can in the culture-eating monster that is the NFL). No major changes are expected this offseason with head coach Jonathan Gannon and quarterback Kyler Murray entrenched at least for now, so it looks like more of the same for the Cardinals. Post-regular season ranking: 24 What's new?: Pete Carroll's in the building Owner Mark Davis went from maybe the least experienced coach he could have hired (Antonio Pierce) to maybe the most experienced. Carroll, 73, has been a head coach for 27 of the last 29 seasons either in the NFL or college. Counting interim hires, Carroll will be the eighth Raiders head coach since the 2014 season. Post-regular season ranking: 22 What's new?: The defensive coordinator After spending six years in Cincinnati, Anarumo was snapped up by the Colts shortly after the Bengals fired him. It was time for a change in Indy. The Colts were 30th in the league in points allowed (24.9) in three seasons under Gus Bradley. Maybe Anarumo can fix quarterback Anthony Richardson after he gets the defense straightened out. Post-regular season ranking: 27 What's new?: The coaching lineup in the division If new Bears head coach Ben Johnson is as good as everyone expects him to be (although let's be honest, it's always a crapshoot), then the NFC North will be the new cradle of coaches. Campbell, Kevin O'Connell and LaFleur have already proved their chops, which is the reason it's a little surprising this is the job Johnson decided to take. GO DEEPER The Eagles defense couldn't stop Mahomes in 2022. In Super Bowl 59 they got their revenge Post-regular season ranking: 25 What's new?: The head coach (any day now) Everyone expects Eagles offensive coordinator and new Super Bowl champion Kellen Moore to be named New Orleans' next head coach. In fact, his Wikipedia page indicated Monday morning that he already had the job even though the Saints hadn't announced it yet (although that was removed by the early evening). The former Boise State quarterback, 36, has been in coaching only since 2018, and he and the Cowboys parted ways just 25 months ago, so this is a risk for New Orleans, which is the last team to fill its head coaching vacancy this offseason. Advertisement Post-regular season ranking: 26 What's new?: The Aaron who's in charge Aaron Glenn, who was hired as head coach on Jan. 22, hasn't acted in his previous stops like a coach who's going to be willing to let the quarterback run the show, and it looks like that means the end of the line for Aaron Rodgers. The Jets pick seventh in the upcoming draft, which might be high enough to get Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward if Glenn wants to go with a rookie quarterback. Post-regular season ranking: 23 What's new?: The fans' feelings about the Hall of Fame Carolina fans, and pretty much everyone else, believed former Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly should have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he didn't make the cut. The seven-time Pro Bowler and 2013 defensive player of the year will be an automatic finalist next year because of his finish in this year's voting. This year's four-person induction class was the smallest in 20 years. Post-regular season ranking: 30 What's new?: Mike Vrabel's back And the horseplay is going to stop, apparently. 'We're going to remove entitlement from our football team,' the former Patriots linebacker said in his introductory news conference. Pairing Vrabel with second-year quarterback Drake Maye has renewed the spirit of New England fans, who have seen their team average 6.6 wins per season over the last five years. Post-regular season ranking: 28 What's new?: The front office, finally Owner Shad Khan tried to hold on to general manager Trent Baalke but couldn't find a head coaching candidate willing to work for him under those circumstances. Now Jacksonville has a head coach (Liam Coen), but it's still looking to replace Baalke. Change is probably good for the Jaguars, who have the worst winning percentage in the league (30.2 percent) since Khan bought the team in 2012. GO DEEPER Jalen Hurts earned his Super Bowl MVP moment — and the quiet that comes in its wake Post-regular season ranking: 29 What's new?: The quarterback, soon The Giants don't have a quarterback under contract for the 2025 season so there's little doubt they'll be getting a new one. The question is: From where? New York picks third in this year's draft behind Tennessee and Cleveland, both of which could take a quarterback. If the Giants can't get, or don't want, one of the top two college options (Sanders and Ward), they could consider veteran options like Cousins, Darnold, Fields and Jameis Winston. Advertisement Post-regular season ranking: 31 What's new?: Potentially everything Since the end of the regular season, we've learned that quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered a second tear of his injured Achilles and defensive end Myles Garrett wants a trade. The Watson injury could give the Browns a chance to get out of his onerous contract more easily, and they could trade Garrett to recoup some of the draft capital they lost while acquiring Watson. If anybody could use a reset, it's the Browns. Post-regular season ranking: 32 What's new?: The general manager Tennessee raided the Chiefs' front office to find their new general manager, which seems like a reasonable strategy. They hired former Kansas City assistant general manager Mike Borgonzi, who had been with the Chiefs since 2009. Now, he's going from Patrick Mahomes to Who Knows What at quarterback. We'll see how that works out. (Top photo of A.J. Brown and Mekhi Becton: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
You can still get these Super Bowl 2025 food deals, discounts on Monday. Here's where
It's estimated that 22.6 million people will call out of work on the Monday after Super Bowl 2025, according to industry experts. Whether their Super Bowl party went too late or their team lost, it's a new record, according to the study from UKG. Only 16.1 million and 18.8 million indicated they planned to skip work on that in 2024 and 2023, respectively. If you're fighting that urge to skip work or are just having a crummy Monday, restaurants and fast food spots like Starbucks, Denny's and Carl's Jr. have you covered with deals, discounts and freebies. Here's where Arizona residents can go on Super Bowl Monday, Feb. 10, to find food deals, discounts and freebies. The coffee giant is celebrating "Starbucks Monday" the day after the Super Bowl. Rewards members will be able to get a free tall hot or iced brewed coffee, the company announced on Wednesday. To redeem the deal, you can apply the Starbucks Monday coupon in the app before you place your order or tell your barista you want to redeem the coupon when you place an order at the store. To find a Starbucks near you, visit Good deals: This popular soda shop is offering drinks for $1 on Saturday Feeling a little sluggish on Monday? Carl's Jr. has your back. The burger company is offering free Hangover Burgers, which come with a beef patty, egg, bacon, cheese, hashbrowns and special sauce, on Monday. No purchase is necessary to get the freebie. To find a Carl's Jr. location near you, visit Chipotle is also offering rewards members a special deal on Monday in honor of the Super Bowl. The restaurant is celebrating "Extra Sunday" by giving its rewards members free guacamole and queso blanco with the purchase of an entree. You must place the order on the Chipotle app or online and enter promo code EXTRA25 to get the deal. There are 102 Chipotle stores in Arizona. To find a location near you, visit Applebee's will give fans six free boneless wings on Monday if a Pick Six happens during the game and an intercepted pass is returned for a touchdown. If that happens, you can mention "Applebee's Pick Six Monday" to your server or use the promo code PICK6 when ordering online. To find an Applebee's near you, visit Here's a deal for those taking off on Super Sick Monday – get free delivery on all online breakfast and lunch orders of $20 or more on Monday. Note: the restaurant chain's locations will be closed during the Big Game "to let our team cheer on their favorites," the company said in a statement to USA TODAY. To find a First Watch near you, visit On Monday, all Denny's Rewards members get free coffee when they dine in. USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider contributed to this article. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Super Bowl 2025: These food deals are good on Monday
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Super Bowl discounts you can get today: Free Starbucks, Applebee's wings, pet treats, more
The 2025 Super Bowl might be over, but the deals and freebies are still going strong. Several restaurants and chains are offering free coffee, menu items, and even pet treats on Monday in honor of the Super Bowl. Want free post-game food? Here's where to find the free or discounted items to keep an eye on today. Today, the coffee chain celebrates "Starbucks Monday" the day after the Super Bowl. Rewards members will be able to get a free tall hot or iced brewed coffee. To redeem the deal, you can apply the Starbucks Monday coupon in the app before you place your order or tell your barista you want to redeem the coupon when you place an order at the store. Ohio has 515 Starbucks store locations in total, according to ScrapeHero data, landing it among the top 10 states with the most stores in the U.S. There are currently 35 in the Cincinnati area, and four in Florence, Kentucky. Meanwhile, Columbus has 40 locations, and there are 10 in Akron, according to the store locator. To find a Starbucks near you, visit Applebee's will give fans six free boneless wings on Monday if a Pick Six happens during the game and an intercepted pass is returned for a touchdown. Thanks to Cooper DeJean's pick-six for the Eagles, you can mention "Applebee's Pick Six Monday" to your server or use the promo code PICK6 when ordering online to get your free wings. To find an Applebee's near you, visit On Monday, all Denny's Rewards members can get free coffee when they dine in. The online pet store announced that it's giving away 59,000 free treats for birds, dogs and cats if the Eagles win the Super Bowl. Chewy posted a link for pet owners to redeem select free treats on its Instagram story. While there aren't any Carl's Jr. locations nearby in the Buckeye State, to score free Hangover Burgers, Ohio has several Hardee's locations that are offering a buy one, get one Free deal on heart-shaped biscuits to celebrate Valentine's Day. The deal runs until Feb. 16. Chipotle is also offering rewards members a special deal on Monday in honor of the Super Bowl. The restaurant is celebrating "Extra Sunday" by giving its rewards members free guacamole and queso blanco with the purchase of an entrée. You must place the order on the Chipotle app or online and enter promo code EXTRA25 to get the deal. There are 256 Chipotle locations throughout Ohio, including 23 in Cincinnati, 21 in Columbus, and six in Akron. To find a location near you, visit the company's store locator. Here's a deal for those taking off on Super Sick Monday — get free delivery on all online breakfast and lunch orders of $20 or more at First Watch on Monday. To find a First Watch near you, visit and input your ZIP code. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Super Bowl freebies today: Starbucks, Applebee's wings, pet treats, more
New York Times
10-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
To understand the Josh Allen-Lamar Jackson MVP vote, look to … Nikola Jokić?
(Editor's note: This is excerpted from Mike Sando's Pick Six of Feb. 10, 2025.) A call came in from a veteran NFL executive after the Pick Six column from Dec. 2 explained why Jackson looked like the best MVP candidate with roughly a month remaining in the regular season. The betting odds had shifted in Allen's favor as the players' statistics came into closer alignment for a stretch. Jackson would later rally, and when he was named the first-team All-Pro QB over Allen, that seemed to signal Jackson was in line for his third MVP. Bills QB Josh Allen wins AP NFL MVP after finishing second to Lamar Jackson in All-Pro voting. Allen is third player to win MVP after not making first-team All-Pro. Steve McNair shared 2003 MVP with Peyton Manning after Manning was the All-Pro and John Elway beat out #49ers Jerry… — Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) February 7, 2025 When Allen won the award, that December conversation with the NFL executive came to mind. The exec had theorized that Jackson's candidacy would suffer because he had already won MVP honors twice without enjoying much playoff success. 'Jokić ran into the same problem when he was the best player in the league, but he was not winning playoff games,' the exec said. Advertisement Jokić was the NBA's MVP for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. He finished second in 2022-23, but when his Denver Nuggets won a championship after that season, Jokić reemerged as the MVP in 2023-24. 'As Jokić went into that third (potential MVP) season, it felt like, if he doesn't have accomplishments in the playoffs, no matter how good he is playing in the regular season, we are not going to let him be an MVP,' the exec said. This line of thinking did not make sense to me. I saw my job as analyzing how players performed during the 2024 regular season. While I thought Allen was a solid choice, I voted for Jackson as my first-team All-Pro QB and as the MVP, for reasons laid out here. 'Your statistical analysis is right on,' the exec said, 'but at a certain point, if you do not deliver in the postseason when you have been an MVP in the regular season, it somewhat disqualifies you until you have had that success.' Seven voters named Jackson as their first-team All-Pro QB while listing Allen as their MVP. That swung the results for Allen. He's a worthy candidate, but the logic behind some voters' choices still does not compute for me. (Photo of Lamar Jackson, left, and Josh Allen: Al Bello / Getty Images)
New York Times
10-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
The Hall of Fame's rule changes did not fix the problem. Here's how to do so
(Editor's note: This is excerpted from Mike Sando's Pick Six of Feb. 10, 2025.) The Hall adopted new rules this year to 'help ensure that membership in the Hall of Fame remains elite' after some felt too many borderline candidates were earning gold jackets. The changes reduced the class size to four in 2025 after the Hall averaged 7.8 inductees per year from 2015-2024, not counting a 20-member Centennial class. GO DEEPER Hall of Fame voting rules: Why the highest NFL honor is now more exclusive Antonio Gates, Eric Allen and Jared Allen earned enshrinement as modern-era players. Sterling Sharpe earned enshrinement as a senior player (retired at least 25 years). The four-member class was the Hall's smallest since 2005. The changes failed in another sense because, in my view as one of the 49 selectors, the committee did not sufficiently prioritize voting for the most elite candidates regardless of how long other candidates had been waiting. Advertisement Gates and linebacker Luke Kuechly met the super-elite standard better than the other modern-era finalists, but Kuechly, in his first year of eligibility, was forced to wait. Opinions on players vary. Not everyone will agree with my take on Kuechly relative to the other finalists. But I'm very confident the public outcry would be much louder if, say, Kuechly were excluded over a 10-year period than if Eric Allen, Jared Allen or both were excluded for that long (Eric Allen had been excluded much longer than that, gaining enshrinement in his 19th year of eligibility). Some voters advocate hurrying to enshrine long-eligible candidates before they fall into an abyss with other senior candidates, perhaps never to surface again. Some of these voters also complain about too many first-ballot selections, contending these players push others into the seniors category. This thinking was more defensible when enough slots were effectively available for nearly all finalists to earn enshrinement eventually. Following this line of thinking under the new, more restrictive rules creates a disconnect with the Hall's mission to improve class quality. That disconnect was on display Thursday night when the Hall introduced a class lacking in both size and star power. The table above stacks the 15 modern-era finalists for 2025 by how likely each was to earn enshrinement based on Pro Football Reference's Hall of Fame Monitor score, which takes into account career production and honors. This is not, by any means, how Hall classes should be elected. But it's a thoughtful, independent point of reference. It's telling when almost none of the highest-rated players earn enshrinement. Voters must recalibrate. The chart below arranges modern-era Hall of Fame player classes by weighted career AV (Y axis) and Hall of Fame Monitor score (X axis). The problem should resolve itself temporarily in 2026 when Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald become eligible. A three-man class with Brees, Fitzgerald and Kuechly would rank sixth among 46 modern-era player classes since 1980 in average Hall of Fame Monitor score (the 2025 class ranks 40th). Bill Belichick could be the choice in the senior/coach/contributor category, further elevating the 2026 class prestige. Advertisement There are other concerns. In addition to the 15 modern-era finalists listed above, the committee also considered three seniors, one coach and one contributor separately. Sharpe was the only one to earn enshrinement under rules that assure between one and three are enshrined. The Hall would be wise to reconsider slot allocation. Three slots for seniors is too many after 18 were enshrined in the past six years, including 10 in 2020. I see no obvious contributor candidates beyond Robert Kraft. Should that category be in the mix every year? Mike Holmgren, Mike Shanahan and Tom Coughlin are the strongest coach candidates, pending Belichick's eligibility. Their candidacies are stronger than those for contributors. The way things are set up now, voters pick three of the five finalists in this combined category, with 80 percent of votes (40 of 49 this year) required for enshrinement. Seven of the broader selection committee members serve on the subcommittee for senior candidates. They could, in theory, vote only for seniors, while the other subcommittee members (nine on the coach committee and seven on the contributor committee) must also choose players. I do not think subcommittee voters are this rigid, but with every vote being so precious, and with players naturally having the edge over coaches and contributors anyway, the 3-1-1 distribution exaggerates the imbalance. We saw the results of that imbalance when only Sharpe qualified, when many voters thought both Sharpe and Holmgren would make it. (Photo of Luke Kuechly: Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images)
