The 2015 list of nominees to the Hall of Fame has been released, and as you might expect, the Rams are well represented.
The Greatest Show on Turf is now filtering through the ranks. Marshall Faulk was elected to the Hall in 2011 and will watch to see if his teammates join him this year as Kurt Warner, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt and Orlando Pace all are first-time nominees.
Other Rams on the list include WR Henry Ellard, RB Jerome Bettis, OLB Kevin Greene, P Sean Landeta and HC Dick Vermeil.
In all, 113 names are up for consideration. Near the end of November, they'll whittle the list down to 25 seminfinalists and then select 15 finalists in January. Between four and eight total members have to be inducted every year, but they can come from those 15 "modern-era" finalists, a pre-ME selection (former Minnesota Vikings center Mick Tingelhoff),and two yet-to-be-determined Contributor finalists. The voting will take place, and will be announced, January 31, 2015.
2015 HoF Nominees
*Finalist in 2014; First-year eligibles underlined
Quarterbacks: (4) – Randall Cunningham, Rich Gannon, Phil Simms, Kurt Warner
Wide Receivers: (9) – *Tim Brown (also KR), Isaac Bruce, Gary Clark, Henry Ellard (also PR), *Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, Sterling Sharpe, Jimmy Smith, Rod Smith
Tight End: (1) – Mark Bavaro
Running Backs: (14) – Shaun Alexander, Ottis Anderson, Tiki Barber, *Jerome Bettis, Roger Craig, Stephen Davis, Terrell Davis, Eddie George, Priest Holmes, Edgerrin James, Daryl Johnston, Jamal Lewis, Herschel Walker (also KR), Ricky Watters
Offensive Linemen: (23) – Willie Anderson (T), Tony Boselli (T), Jeff Bostic (C), Lomas Brown (T), Jim Covert (T), Bill Fralic (G/T), Jay Hilgenberg (C), Chris Hinton (G/T), Kent Hull (C), Joe Jacoby (T), Jon Jansen (T), Mike Kenn (T), Jim Lachey (T), Kevin Mawae (C/G), Mark May (G/T/C),Tom Nalen (C), Nate Newton (G), Orlando Pace (T), Chris Samuels (T), Mark Schlereth (G), *Will Shields (G), Tra Thomas (T), Steve Wisniewski (G)
Defensive Linemen: (12) – Al "Bubba" Baker (DE), Jerome Brown (DT), Carl Hairston (DE/DT), *Charles Haley (also LB), Jevon Kearse (DE), Dexter Manley (DE), Charles Mann (DE), Steve McMichael (DT/NT), Fred Smerlas (NT), Greg Townsend (DE), Ted Washington (DT/NT), Bryant Young (DE)
Linebackers: (13) – Cornelius Bennett, Tedy Bruschi, *Kevin Greene (also DE), Ken Harvey, Clay Matthews, Willie McGinest (also DE), Karl Mecklenburg, Matt Millen, Sam Mills, Junior Seau, Chris Spielman, Darryl Talley, Zach Thomas
Defensive Backs: (16) – Eric Allen (CB), Steve Atwater (S), Joey Browner (S), LeRoy Butler (S), Thomas Everett (S), Rodney Harrison (S), Ty Law (CB), Albert Lewis (CB), *John Lynch (S), Terry McDaniel (CB), Tim McDonald (S), Frank Minnifield (CB), Shawn Springs (CB), Troy Vincent (CB/S), Everson Walls (CB), Darren Woodson (S)
Kickers/Punters: (5) – *Morten Andersen (K), Gary Anderson (K), Jason Elam (K), Sean Landeta (P), Nick Lowery (K)
Special Teams/Position Players: (2) – Brian Mitchell (RB/PR/KR), Steve Tasker (also WR)
Coaches: (14) –Don Coryell, Bill Cowher, *Tony Dungy, Tom Flores, Mike Holmgren, Jimmy Johnson, Chuck Knox, Buddy Parker, Richie Petitbon, Dan Reeves, Lou Saban, Marty Schottenheimer, Clark Shaughnessy, Dick Vermeil