Mike Holmgren advances as Hall of Fame candidate

Mike Holmgren advances as Hall of Fame candidate
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It’s probably not going to happen for him this year, because of Bill Belichick joining the pool of coaching candidates, but former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike Holmgren has advanced to the group of 12 for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s coaching candidates going into the next stage of Class of 2026 voting. While in Green Bay, Holmgren posted a 75-37 record from 1992 to 1998, before taking over as head coach and general manager of the Seattle Seahawks.

In Seattle, he went 86-74. In total, his teams reached three Super Bowls, one of which he won with the Packers during the 1996 season.

Here’s a breakdown of the coaches who made the cut for the group of 12, including their head coaching records:

  • Clark Shaughnessy: 14-7-3 (.667)
  • George Seifert: 114-62 (.648)
  • Bill Belichick: 302-165 (.647)
  • Marty Schottenheimer: 200-126-1 (.613)
  • Mike Holmgren: 161-111 (.592)
  • Buddy Parker: 104-75-9 (.581)
  • Chuck Knox: 186-147-1 (.558)
  • Mike Shanahan: 170-138 (.552)
  • Dan Reeves: 190-165-2 (.535)
  • Tom Coughlin: 170-150 (.531)
  • Bill Arnsparger: 7-28 (.200)
  • Alex Gibbs: N/A

Only one coach, at most, will ultimately end up in Canton in this class. This year, it’s almost certain that it’ll be Bill Belichick, who won six Super Bowls as a head coach and two more as an assistant.

The way the Hall of Fame works now, beyond the modern player pool, there are three ways to make it into Canton: as a senior player candidate, as a contributor candidate or as a coach candidate. The lists will be whittled down to three senior candidates, one contributor and one coach. From there, those three groups are merged into a single group of five candidates, of which one (minimum) to three (maximum) will earn a gold jacket per class.

Last year, Holmgren was the lone head coaching finalist, but he fell short of the 80 percent vote needed to become enshrined in Canton. Instead, the committee put in Sterling Shapre (senior player candidate) as the lone non-modern player in the 2025 class, alongside just three modern players in Antonio Gates, Jared Allen and Eric Allen.