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Marvin Harrison, Tony Dungy Chosen for Hall of Fame Class of 2016

By Luke Schultheis

Feb 6, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; Tony Dungy at press conference to announce the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2016 at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 6, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; Tony Dungy at press conference to announce the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2016 at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Former Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison and head coach Tony Dungy were among the finalists that have been chosen for the NFL Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016:

This was both Harrison and Dungy’s 3rd year as a Hall of Fame Finalist respectively.

In 13 NFL seasons, Harrison had 1,102 receptions for 14,580 receiving yards and 128 receiving touchdowns. That ranks 3rd all-time in receptions, 7th in career receiving yards, and 5th in career touchdowns respectively.

Harrison was a Super Bowl XLI Champion, 3x First-Team All-Pro, 5x Second-Team All-Pro, 8x Pro Bowler, and a member of the NFL 2000’s All-Decade Team.

Among his other accomplishments:

  • His single season record of 143 receptions in 2002 is still the best all-time.
  • He trails only Jerry Rice for most 1,500 receiving yard seasons with 3 such seasons.
  • 1st Player to have 50+ receptions in his first 11 seasons
  • 3rd for most consecutive games with a reception (190)
  • Second fastest player to achieve 100 receiving touchdowns
  • 3rd most receiving yards per game all-time (76.7 rec. yards per game)
Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning /

, Harrison is one of the greatest wide receivers in NFL history. With his speed, hands, and precision in routes, there was a stretch when he was nearly uncoverable.

Regarding Dungy, in 13 seasons as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts, Dungy compiled a 139-69 record (.668) and his teams made the playoffs in 11 of his 13 seasons including in all 7 of his seasons with the Colts (2002-08).

He was the first coach to beat all 32 NFL franchises.

Arguably his biggest coaching accomplishment came in 2006, when the Colts beat the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI, and Dungy became the first African American head coach to win a Super Bowl championship.

Dungy is credited with turning around a dismal Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise in the mid 90’s and becoming one of the founding fathers of the widely popularized “Cover 2” defense.

Feb 6, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; Tony Dungy looks on at a press conference to announce the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2016 at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 6, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; Tony Dungy looks on at a press conference to announce the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2016 at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

While Dungy never won a Super Bowl in Tampa, he helped build a stalwart defense that featured the likes of (future) Hall of Famers such as Derrick Brooks, John Lynch, and Warren Sapp among other stars.

In Indianapolis, Dungy was able to build a formidable defense to complement Peyton Manning‘s high powered offense, and one that was instrumental for the franchise to finally win an elusive Super Bowl championship in 2006–largely carrying the team during that postseason run.

It’s not so much what Dungy did on the sidelines, as the type of person he was off of it too.

Simply put, Dungy is universally regarded as one of the most well respected persons in professional football and is a high character individual, who also happens to be a great leader of men.

Congratulations to both Harrison and Dungy, as it’s a tremendous honor and incredibly well deserved!

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