Courtesy of the Kansas City Chiefs
The Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee announced on Thursday that former Chiefs Head Coach Dick Vermeil, this year’s Coach Finalist, will be enshrined as part of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022.
“On behalf of my family and the entire Chiefs organization, I would like to congratulate Dick Vermeil on being selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” said Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt. “Coach Vermeil led the Chiefs for five seasons on the final stop of his Hall of Fame career. His knowledge, humility, and passion for the game of football reflects the values of our franchise, and Chiefs Kingdom is proud to call him one of our own. We are excited for Dick and Carol and their family, and we look forward to his formal induction in Canton later this year.”
Vermeil was named the ninth head coach in franchise history on January 12, 2001, spending five seasons (2001-05) at the helm of the Chiefs. He compiled a regular season record of 44-36 (.550), making him the fourth-winningest head coach in franchise history. In 2003, Vermeil was named the Maxwell Football Club Coach of the Year after leading the Chiefs to a 13-3 record and an AFC West title.
Vermeil’s tenure in Kansas City came after previous stints as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles (1976-82) and as head coach of the St. Louis Rams (1997-99). In Philadelphia, Vermeil led the Eagles to the club’s first Super Bowl appearance in 1980, and he was named the AP NFL Coach of the Year in 1999 when he won Super Bowl XXIV with the Rams.
He is one of just seven head coaches in NFL history to go to the Super Bowl with two different franchises. During the 2003 season in Kansas City, Vermeil became just the fourth head coach in league history to win at least 10 games in a season with three different franchises as well as take three different teams to the playoffs, joining Chuck Knox, Dan Reeves and Bill Parcells.
The Coach Committee, comprised of nine members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee, considers coaches whose careers ended at least five years ago. The list of eligible candidates for the 2022 Coach Finalist was initially reduced to seven names for discussion before Vermeil was named the Coach Finalist. To be elected, Vermeil needed to receive at least 80% voting support by the entire 49-member Selection Committee. Vermeil joins Bill Cowher (2020), Jimmy Johnson (2020) and Tom Flores (2021) as Coach Finalists to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
