Pro Football Hall of Fame•Steelers News
Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 6, 2021. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Pittsburgh has lost its voice in selecting members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Earlier this month, the Hall of Fame announced sweeping changes to the selection process that included dropping the number of selectors from 50 to 28 and obviously eliminating the previous edict that each NFL market would be represented.
As part of that trimming of voters, the lone Pittsburgh-based representative on the panel has been removed. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is no longer on the updated list of Pro Football Hall of Fame voters.
Dulac was perviously the designated Pittsburgh-based represented. Former Steelers defensive back and assistant coach Tony Dungy, who was in an at-large seat on the panel, was also removed.
Hall of Fame member Tony Dungy enters the ceremonies at the Pro Football Hall of Fame-Class of 2025 enshrinement ceremonies at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on Aug 2, 2025; Canton, OH, USA. — Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images
The previous system, where the market-based representative was responsible for presenting the case for each potential candidate from their team, has also been scrapped in favor of neutral presenters.
Other changes in the process included eliminating the seniors committee and putting all eligible player candidates into one voting pool. The new system will have voters consider 15 finalists: 13 players, one coach and one contributor.
The changes were meant to eliminate potential geographical biases in the process, differing skillsets of the presenters, and to reduce pressure to vote candidates in before they pass into the seniors pool.
Those changes came after backlash to Bill Belichick not being selected last year in his first season of eligibility.
Steelers defensive end L.C. Greenwood was not selected as a seniors committee finalist for the Class of 2026. Wide receiver Hines Ward has been a semifinalist 10 times, but never a finalist. Art Rooney Jr. and Buddy Parker were contributor and coach semifinalists in last year’s class.
Mentioned In This Article:Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Football Hall of Fame Steelers Tony Dungy