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Jacksonville Jaguars legend Fred Taylor must be patient for Hall of Fame | Gene Frenette
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- Jacksonville Jaguars legend Fred Taylor must be patient for Hall of Fame | Gene Frenette
Like his former Jacksonville Jaguars teammate and good friend Tony Bosellibefore him, Fred Taylor becoming a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist for a second time bodes well for his eventual enshrinement in Canton.
Even if the voters don't put Taylor in the Hall when they elect a maximum five modern era players in the coming weeks, history shows any candidate being a multiple finalist is almost a sure thing to be fitted for a gold jacket at some point.
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Of the 152 modern era players who have been rejected at least twice as a finalist, 140 of them (92 percent) got into Canton, which includes six-time finalist Boselli and Jacksonville native LeRoy Butler , a three-time finalist .
Fans of Taylor, who is 17th on the NFL all-time rushing list with 11,695 yards, may have to wait a few years to see him receive this coveted honor. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is arguably the hardest exclusive club in sports to break into because of the sheer volume of worthy players.
Former Jaguars' running back Fred Taylor (28), ranked 17th all-time with 11,695 rushing yards, is a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist for the second time. History says he will eventually make it to Canton, but Taylor may have to wait a while longer with such a stacked group of stars vying to get into the 2025 class.
Change is coming: Another Jacksonville Jaguars win over Titans feels too little, too late for Pederson, Baalke
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It puts 50 HOF voters in an untenable position every year of rejecting deserving recipients because only five of 15 finalists can be elected.
Taylor faces another uphill battle that goes beyond first-time eligible players like quarterback Eli Manning, pass-rusher Terrell Suggs and kicker Adam Vinatieri being on the ballot.
Besides Taylor, eight other players who didn't make the Hall of Fame last year are also up for election. That list includes five players — receivers Torry Holtand Reggie Wayne , tackle Willie Anderson, defensive end Jared Allen and cornerback Darren Woodson— who are finalists for either the third, fourth, fifth or sixth time.
For tight end Antonio Gates , with eight straight Pro Bowls and 116 career TDs, it's his second year as a finalist. Gates is considered as close to a lock as anybody after he surprisingly didn't get in last year.
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HOF finalists often wait long time
Many people don't have a full appreciation for how hard it is to get into Canton. Of the 343 players in the Hall, only 97 made it on the first ballot.
Deserving HOF players waiting their turn in line, like former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Lynn Swanngetting elected in a record 14th year as a finalist, is a common trend and Taylor may be no different.
It helps Taylor's case that there are no other running backs among the finalists, but he must overcome a lot more than just being a one-time Pro Bowl selection who played a decade on a small-market team that never went to a Super Bowl.
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The 2025 finalists besides Taylor are a stacked group of players who combined to win 15 Super Bowls, earned an average of 5.7 Pro Bowl honors and seven are members of All-Decade teams.
Since many HOF candidates have fallen one step short of Canton more often than Taylor, that could factor into the voters' selections against him if they view the resumes as equal.
Revisionist history: Leftwich sets record straight
In January, 2022, as the Jaguars conducted a coaching search, some low-profile media speculated after Byron Leftwichinterviewed for the position that the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator would get the job vacated by the fired Urban Meyer.
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None of the national media big hitters joined that narrative, but there was a brief period before owner Shad Khancircled back to eventual hire Doug Pedersonwhere many Jaguars fans and some local media gave the Leftwich-is-coming story ample fuel.
In a sit-down interview with The Athletic recently, Leftwich, an ex-Jaguars quarterback who hasn't coached in the NFL the past two years, publicly set the record straight for the first time.
"I never turned down that job because [the Jaguars] never offered it," Leftwich said. "There were a lot of stories out there and I never spoke on it, but I never turned it down."
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, who wants to return to NFL coaching after a two-year exile, recently told The Athletic that, contrary to some media reports, he was never offered the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching job after the 2021 season that went to Doug Pederson.
Leftwich added that speculation about him not wanting to work with Jaguars GM Trent Baalkewas also false, saying he didn't know him and that his interview with the team went well. He simply didn't get the job.
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Quick-hitting nuggets
So sad that former Golfweek/USA Today golf writer and Ponte Vedra Beach resident Steve DiMeglio, 63, lost his battle with Stage 4 liver and rectum cancer on New Year's Day. He was a dear friend to many PGA Tour players and others in the golf world.
Former Golfweek/USA Today golf writer Steve DiMeglio (L), seen here talking with PGA Tour player Gary Woodland at The Players Championship last year, lost his battle with Stage 4 liver and rectum cancer on New Year's Day. He was 63.
An outpouring of social media tributes, including from Tiger Woods, ensued right after his passing. I'm grateful DiMeglio gave me time to do a story at The Players Championship in 2023 about his courageous battle Golf writer battles Stage 4 cancer, misses hanging with players, media with a terrible disease. RIP, Megs. ...
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While Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankeyisn't doing cartwheels over his league's 8-6 record in the football bowl season, he can take comfort that the depth of its basketball programs might be at an all-time high. The SEC has had 10 teams ranked in the Associated Press poll the past two weeks, the most since the AP poll began during the 1948-49 season. The SEC holds five of the top 10 spots with No. 1 Tennessee , No. 2 Auburn, No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 Florida and No. 10 Kentucky. Its combined non-league record is 184-23, including 21-8 against ranked opponents. ...
The Jaguars' AFC South currently has the worst combined record among all NFL divisions at 23-41 going into Week 18, which upholds a trend since the league realigned to eight four-team divisions in 2002. The AFC South has a 724-822-2 record the past 23 seasons, translating to the NFL's lowest win percentage at .468. Here are the seven other divisions from the best to worst records over that span: AFC North (793-746-8, .515); AFC East (795-752-0, .514); AFC West (790-758-0, .510); NFC North (784-758-6, .508); NFC East (780-763-5, .505); NFC South (761-785-2, .492); NFC West (750-793-5, .486).
Pigskin forecast
Jaguars over Indianapolis Colts by 3 (consolation prizes); Tampa Bay Buccaneers over New Orleans Saints by 7 (NFC South banners); Houston Texans over Tennessee Titans by 3 (alarm clocks); Denver Broncos over Kansas City Chiefs by 7 (playing incentives); Miami Dolphins over New York Jets by 4 (Chiefs' cheerleaders); Ohio State over Texas by 1 (Michigan wakeup call); Notre Dame over Penn State by 3 (shamrocks). Last week: 7 right, 0 Raheem Morristimeout strategies.
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Gfrenette@jacksonville.com : (904) 359-4540; Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @genefrenette
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars' Fred Taylor must be patient about Hall of Fame
