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Jaguars legend Fred Taylor must wait for Hall of Fame, but his career is worthy | Gene Frenette
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- Jaguars legend Fred Taylor must wait for Hall of Fame, but his career is worthy | Gene Frenette
Whatever disappointment Jacksonville Jaguars legend Fred Taylorfeels about not getting into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year as a finalist , it should be tempered by knowing a lot of HOF running backs had to go through a ton of rejection.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers back Jerome Bettis, a six-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion, made the HOF finals five times before his election in 2015. Terrell Davis, a league MVP and the last running back to get inducted with Ladanian Tomlinsonin 2017, was a three-time finalist.
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A large majority of Hall of Famers don't get elected the first time as a finalist because there's a logjam of great players, and the 50-voter electorate can only put in a maximum of five modern-era candidates each year.
Jaguars running back Fred Taylor (28) looks to put a move on Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Patrick Surtain (23) in a 2007 game.
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So when the NFL announced Thursday night that Taylor was among 10 finalists not elected, he joined a long list of nominees that fell one step short of the finish line.
One of those players was Jacksonville native LeRoy Butler, a 12-year safety with the Green Bay Packers who earned a gold jacket on his third try as a finalist with the 2022 HOF class and after 16 years of eligibility.
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Butler's advice for Taylor is to just enjoy the process, and not get stressed out over having to wait for a bust in Canton.
"You get rejected, but you also get accepted to separate yourself, to say, 'Yes, one day, I will get in,'" Butler said. "That's a step that was so exciting for me when I was a first-year finalist. Fred has to embrace that. Not getting in didn't bother me because being a Hall of Fame finalist changes everything.
"Now you're in the conversation at the barber shop. That's a different category, especially for running backs. A lot of them don't even get to be a finalist. In a lot of ways, it's like an engagement. You just don't know when you're going to get married."
Butler is right about Taylor's status as a finalist being a game-changer. Once a player becomes a finalist, his chances of eventually being a Hall of Famer soar to over 80 percent.
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Many believe the case for Taylor, who has the most rushing yards (11,695) of any HOF-eligible back not in Canton, is diminished by having just one Pro Bowl on his resume. But he also has more TD runs of 60-plus yards (10) than anybody not named Barry Sanders, a testimony to his speed and explosiveness.
He's also one of three backs in NFL history besides Sanders and Adrian Peterson to average 4.6 yards per carry with over 2,500 rushing attempts, more evidence of Taylor being a threat to score from anywhere on the field.
Taylor must simply trust the HOF voting process and that his reward will come in due time.
"Me and [Hall of Fame receiver] Terrell Owenshad a great conversation about that," Butler said. "Players don't look at numbers like the media does. They look at who they played against and how they felt about them. Fred had big games against a lot of teams playing in one of the smallest markets.
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"My mother [ Eunice Butler] used to say, 'You can't worry about things you don't control.' I knew I wasn't going to make it my first year as a finalist in Miami , but I got to be around a lot of gold jackets [at the Super Bowl] and it made me feel great.
"Talking to another Hall of Famer about waiting to get in is like therapy because they know how I feel. At least you're being talked about [for the Hall of Fame] and that makes you feel better. It's worth waiting on."
Butler expects to call Taylor on Friday to let him know that his time is coming. He wants him to know not making it as a first-time finalist is a normal step in the process.
"Nobody cares how long you wait to get in the Hall of Fame once you're in," said Butler. "There'll be a spot waiting for Fred."
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Ideal Jaguars tradeoff
It can be argued nobody in NFL free agency last year scored bigger than former Jaguars offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor , who will be playing in the Super Bowl for the Kansas City Chiefs after signing a four-year, $80 million contract, which included an $18.9 million signing bonus and $60 million in guaranteed money.
To fill the void left by Taylor, the Jaguars selected Oklahoma's Anton Harrison with the No. 27 overall draft pick, which has turned out to be one of the best tradeoffs in franchise history.
Instead of getting into a bidding war to retain Taylor, the Jaguars let him go into free agency and got the better end of the deal, both financially and in overall production.
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Playing 1,112 snaps, Harrison allowed five sacks, led all rookie tackles by allowing only 27 pressures and was flagged for seven penalties.
Taylor was on the field for 1,076 snaps, allowing five sacks, 47 pressures and was one of the NFL's most flagged linemen with 20 penalties.
So while KC made Taylor the league's highest-paid right tackle — with cap hits of $24.725 million in the next three years — the Jaguars got a younger, more consistent Harrison for cap hits of $3 million (2024), $3.6 million (2025) and $4.2 million (2026).
Oct 12, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor (74) lines up against the Denver Broncos during the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
In addition, Jaguars GM Trent Baalketraded down twice before acquiring Harrison, resulting in three additional draft picks, including future starting safety Antonio Harrisonin the fifth round.
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Baalke's draft resume with the Jaguars has been spotty, but he hit a home run letting Taylor walk into free agency and grabbing Harrison as his replacement.
Mike Martin legacy
During my stint as a prep writer in West Palm Beach (1980-81), a successful boys basketball coach at Twin Lakes High, Alvin Wright, had a high winning percentage every season. He also had the right perspective when asked why his teams never won a state championship.
Wright's memorable, snappy comeback to me about always coming up short of winning it all, including back-to-back state semifinal losses, was this: "It's not your wife, and it's not your life."
Former FSU baseball coach Mike Martin as seen in 2012.
Those words popped back into my mind last week upon learning of the death of Florida State coaching legend Mike Martin, 79, whose only void attached to his resume as college baseball's winningest coach (2,029-736-4) was failing to capture a national title.
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Despite his ferocious competitive nature, Martin never let not winning the College World Series define him. His perpetual optimism and smile, the relationships he treasured with players and people, always resonated as Martin's true legacy more than FSU not being a national champion.
Sure, it would have been a glorious sight to see Martin raise a CWS trophy one time. But for those most influenced by Martin, it's far down the list of how No. 11 will be most remembered.
RIP, Mike. Nobody can say you didn't have a great wife ( Carol) or a great life.
Is Buddy Parker Hall of Fame rejection a problem for Tom Coughlin?
One of the overlooked factors in the Pro Football Hall of Fame voting was two-time NFL championship coach Buddy Parker, the nominee in the coach/contributor category, not receiving the 80 percent requirement from the electorate to get into Canton.
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Parker, who coached the Detroit Lions to two NFL titles in the 1950s and also won one as a player for the Lions in 1935, was nominated over a who's-who list of candidates like Tom Coughlin, Mike Shanahan, Mike Holmgrenand New England Patriots owner Robert Kraftand Pittsburgh Steelers executive Art Rooney Jr.
It's rare to see any candidate put up for HOF election in this category not get the required number of votes. It made me wonder if Parker, who died in 1982 and is long overdue for a bust in Canton, not getting in means a prolonged wait for Coughlin, who won two Super Bowls as the New York Giants head coach and led the expansion Jaguars to two AFC championship games.
Apparently, Parker being kept out of the HOF is simply an outlier. One nationally prominent voter told me anonymously that despite the unusual circumstances, he expects it'll have no impact on the future candidacy of Coughlin or any other coach.
Quick-hitting nuggets
When NFL commissioner Roger Goodellannounced the Philadelphia Eagles would host the first league game in South America on Friday, Sept. 6, in Brazil, some Jaguars fans might have wondered if Jacksonville would be the opponent. That's not going to happen.
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The Jaguars are one of nine Eagles home opponents, but they're already hosting an international game at London's Wembley Stadium and could be playing a road game at Tottenham Hotspur against the Chicago Bears . Whether they end up playing one or two games in London, there's no chance Jacksonville or the NFL would agree to have the Jaguars play a second or third international game in South America. …
While Florida basketball dangles on the NCAA Tournament bubble, Jacksonville University is perched on the ASUN tournament bubble, even after Thursday's 59-55 win over Central Arkansas. The Dolphins of third-year coach Jordan Mincystand 11th in the 12-team league and only the top 10 teams make the ASUN tourney. With four of six remaining league games at home and standout defensive player Bryce Workmanback from a broken hand, the Dolphins (3-7) probably need to finish 6-10 to be assured of making the tournament. Mincy's program would suffer a major setback if it missed the ASUN tourney for a second straight year. …
With Tiger Woodscommitted to playing his first official PGA Tour event as host of the Genesis Invitational next week, speculation is rampant about whether he might show up at The Players Championship (March 14-17). At the Hero Challenge in December, he said the best scenario for his 2024 schedule "would be maybe a tournament a month." If he stays healthy, the two-time Players champion might want to compete at the TPC Sawgrass Stadium course one more time. After winning the 2019 Masters, his last year of eligibility for the Players is next month. …
Pigskin forecast: Kansas City Chiefs over San Francisco 49ers by 3 (dynasty qualifiers). Last forecast: 0 right, 2 Lamar Jackson big-game apologists).
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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: Don't make Fred Taylor wait forever to make Hall of Fame
