Three NFL head coaches with ties to the Pittsburgh area are among the nine just selected as semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Six of the coaches on the list have won at least one Super Bowl.
The Coach Blue-Ribbon Committee selected Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin, Mike Holmgren, Chuck Knox, Buddy Parker, Dan Reeves, Marty Schottenheimer, George Seifert, and Mike Shanahan. Coughlin, Holmgren, Knox, Reeves, Schottenheimer, Seifert, and Shanahan were semifinalists last year, with Holmgren chosen as a finalist for the Class of 2025.
Chuck Knox was born in Sewickley and attended Juniata College. He coached the Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks, all between 1973 and 1994. He was a three-time AP NFL Coach of the Year. Before the NFL, Knox coached at Tyrone and Ellwood City High Schools. Knox died in 2018 at the age of 86.
Marty Schottenheimer is the only eligible NFL coach with at least 200 regular-season wins not already in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was born in Canonsburg and graduated from Fort Cherry High School and the University of Pittsburgh. Schottenheimer played in the NFL from 1965-1971, playing briefly for the Steelers in his last year. He coached in the league from 1975 to 2006 with the Giants, Lions, Browns, Chiefs, Redskins and Chargers. Schottenheimer died in Charlotte in 2021.
Buddy Parker served as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1957 until 1964, when Chuck Knoll replaced him. Before coming to the Steelers, he won two NFL championships with the Detroit Lions. His overall record was 107-76-9. Parker died in 1982.
Dan Reeves has a unique connection to Pittsburgh. He was offered a contract by the Pittsburgh Pirates to play baseball, but ultimately signed to play football with the Dallas Cowboys, his only team as a player. Reeves coached the Cowboys, Broncos, Giants and Falcons, amassing a career record of 201-174-2.
Among the other finalists, Bill Belichick has a career record of 333-178, including playoffs, and has won six Super Bowl titles. Tom Coughlin led the New York Giants to two Super Bowl titles and posted a career record of 182-157. Mike Holmgren won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers and appeared in another with the Seattle Seahawks, with a career record of 174-122.
George Seifert won two Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers and had a career record of 124-67.
Mike Shanahan won two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos and had a career record of 178-144.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 will be announced at ‘NFL Honors’ in San Francisco in February and enshrined in August in Canton.
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