Packers Butler, Sharpe, Driver, Holmgren all nominated for PFHOF
Packers football is all about excellence.
For nearly 100 years, the Green Bay Packers have epitomized what is great about the National Football League.
So it isn’t with great surprise that three recent players and one head coach have all been honored with nominations for the Pro Football Hall of fame.
LeRoy Butler, Sterling Sharpe, Donald Driver and former head coach Mike Holmgren are all among the 108 players and coaches who have been nominated for induction into the Hall.
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As nominees, they are eligible to become members of the semifinalist class which will then become finalists for final consideration.
The announcement of next year’s inductees takes place during Super Bowl weekend, which will be the first weekend in February 2018.
In addition to the nominees listed above, Jerry Kramer has already been nominated as a senior selection to the Hall, but in order for him to be inducted, he still needs 80 percent of the ballots to be included.
LeRoy Butler
With 38 career interceptions and 20.5 sacks, Butler dominated during his playing days during the 1990s with the Packers.
Butler also played in two Super Bowls in 1996 and 1997, and was a member of the Super Bowl-winning team in 1996.
He played in 181 regular season games over his 12-year career and was the first defensive back to register more than 20 interceptions and 20 sacks during his playing days.
Sterling Sharpe
As a five-time Pro Bowler and a three-time All-Pro, Sharpe’s career was cut short by a neck injury that left him with just seven years in the league. What was really sad about Sharpe’s early departure from the game was the fact that he only had a chance to play two seasons with Brett Favre. Had the two of them stayed on the field for at least another five years, there is no question that Sharpe would have been a first ballot inductee.
Even with his early retirement, Sharpe was the team’s all-time leading receiver before Donald Driver overtook his statistics. Sharpe had 595 receptions and 65 touchdowns during his career and tallied a total of 8,134 receiving yards. He also led the NFL twice in receiving touchdowns.
Donald Driver
Driver, a first-time nominee, concluded his 14 seasons as the Packers all-time leading receiver with 10,137 yards. However, it was his rise from being a seventh round draft choice by the Packers to his dominance in the game that was truly astounding.
Driver played in three Pro Bowls and earned a Super Bowl Championship ring in 2011.
Mike Holmgren
Holmgren was the Packers’ head coach from 1992-98, winning 67 percent of his games and taking the team to two straight Super Bowls in 1996 and 1997. The Packers won Super Bowl XXXI against the New England Patriots, but lost to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII. That was Holmgren’s final season in Green Bay. He went on to coach at Seattle and also spent time in Cleveland.
Butler, Sharpe, Driver and Holmgren are all members of the Packers Hall of Fame.
Other nominees this year who spent some time in Green Bay with the Packers are Jeff Saturday, Seth Joyner, Keith Millard, and Sean Landetta.
Clay Matthews, Sr., father of current Packer Clay Matthews is also on the nomination list, having spent 19 years in the league with Cleveland and Atlanta.
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The nomination list will be reduced to a semifinalist list that will be announced yet this fall, with the finalists being selected from the semifinalists later in the year.
The full list that includes all 108 nominees may be viewed here …