Three-time Super Bowl champion Mike Shanahan is advancing as a coach candidate for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, the Hall announced Thursday. Another former Denver Broncos coach, the late Dan Reeves, also advanced in the voting.
The list of coach 14 candidates has been trimmed down to nine semifinalists: Shanahan, Reeves, Bill Arnsparger, Tom Coughlin, Mike Holmgren, Chuck Knox, Marty Schottenheimer, George Seifert and Clark Shaughnessy.
Shanahan, 72, won his first Super Bowl as an offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers following the 1994 season. He later won back-to-back Super Bowls as head coach of the Broncos in the 1997 and 1998 seasons. Elements of his offense are still seen across the NFL today.
Reeves died at age 77 in 2022. He reached two Super Bowls as a player with the Dallas Cowboys, winning his first title following the 1971 season. Reeves later reached three more Super Bowls as an assistant with the Cowboys, winning his second title after the 1977 season. He went on to reach four more Super Bowls as a head coach, including three with the Broncos.
Reeves’ nine total Super Bowl appearances represent the third-most in NFL history only behind Tom Brady (10) and Bill Belichick (12). Reeves should eventually reach Canton, and Shanahan seems to be trending toward a Hall of Fame nod in 2025.
Denver also has two modern-era player candidates for the 2025 class in defensive linemen Neil Smith and Simeon Rice.
Broncos candidates for Hall of Fame
- Coach Mike Shanahan
- Coach Dan Reeves
- DL Neil Smith
- DL Simeon Rice
The Hall of Fame’s selection committee will meet on Nov. 19 to select one finalist from the coach category to advance in the voting process. The list of modern-era player nominees will also be trimmed down to 25 semifinalists in November. The 2025 class will be announced before Super Bowl LVIX next year.
