Eagles legend Dick Vermeil will close the show at Hall of Fame enshrinement
They’re saving the best for last at the coming Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony. Philadelphia Eagles legend Dick Vermeil will close the show as the final speaker of a great eight-man class. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
Coach Vermeil served as Philly’s head coach from 1976 to 1982 and spent time as a broadcaster but completed his coaching career with what was then the Saint Louis Rams (1997-1999) and the Kansas City Chiefs (2001-2005). He won Super Bowl XXXIV at the Rams’ helm in Atlanta on January 30th of 2000.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the order in which each enshrinee will be honored and/or speak (Sam Mills and Cliff Branch are being enshrined posthumously). Here’s the skinny:
- LeRoy Butler
- Sam Mills
- 3 Richard Seymour
- Art McNally
- Tony Boselli
- Bryant Young
- Cliff Branch
Dick Vermeil will enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame as an Eagle.
At 85 years young, Coach Vermeil’s enshrinement into Canton is a nice feather in the cap for a football career that dates back to 1959 when he began as an assistant at Del Mar High School in San Jose, California.
During his seven seasons in the City of Brotherly Love, he was Pro Football Weekly’s NFL Coach of the Year and the Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year in 1979 before leading Philadelphia to the Super Bowl to cap the 1980 season. He upended Tom Landry and the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game during the journey.
Before his arrival, Philadelphia had missed the playoffs for 15 consecutive seasons. In just three, Coach Vermeil led the Birds to their first postseason berth since winning the NFL Championship Game in 1960.
He’ll never be forgotten and owns permanent residency in the hearts of Eagles fans everywhere. Sure, his journey has taken him to other cities. He’s been immortalized in both Walt Disney’s Invincible and the 2021 film American Underdog, Make no mistake about it though. Dick Vermeil will join football’s immortals as an Eagle.
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The honor is well deserved. It’s long overdue. There won’t be an Eagles fan that isn’t in front of the television or in Canton, Ohio when his big day arrives on Saturday, August 6th.