The Pro Football Hall of Fame is already discussing the class of 2026 and recently narrowed the list of former head coaches down to 12 candidates.
The Denver Broncos have two former coaches on that list and Broncos Country has been calling for both of them to be enshrined in Canton for many years. Dan Reeves and Mike Shanahan are both part of that final list of 12 candidates.
Reeves and Shanahan each have a resume worthy of the Hall of Fame. Reeves’ 190 career wins rank 10th in NFL history. He took the Broncos to three Super Bowls and the Atlanta Falcons to one more. Though he lost in each of those games, he was one of the top head coaches of his era. Reeves passed away on New Year’s Day in 2022, so his induction would now be posthumously, but it is still well deserved.
Shanahan has an even bigger case to be in the Hall of Fame. His 170 career wins currently rank at No. 19 in NFL history, but his back-to-back Super Bowl wins in 1997 and 1998, as well as his reputation for being one of the top offensive minds of all-time, should put him over the top.
Bill Belichick is among 12 coaches who have advanced to the next stage of the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame selection process, as narrowed by the hall’s Coach Blue-Ribbon Committee.
Also advancing: Bill Arnsparger, Tom Coughlin, Alex Gibbs, Mike Holmgren, Chuck Knox, Buddy… pic.twitter.com/TxlHYSkj03
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 21, 2025
Hopefully, both men will get their busts placed in Canton someday, but it likely won’t come next year. That is all because of one other name that has been listed as a finalist… Bill Belichick.
Currently the head coach at the University of North Carolina, Belichick is considered by many to be the best coach in NFL history. Only two coaches have more than his 302 career victories and his six Super Bowl wins are the most ever. He is all but a lock to be part of that class, and it’s unlikely that the voting committee will choose to enshrine more than one head coach, as classes are often kept small and feature more former players.
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Shanahan could have a decent chance to get voted in as part of the class of 2027. As for Reeves, the wait could be quite some time, if that call comes at all.
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