NEW ORLEANS — Mike Holmgren has Andy Reid’s vote to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
How will it go with the selection committee, though?
Reid, who earned his first NFL job working under Holmgren in Green Bay in the 1990s, told reporters Thursday that his former boss should be a Hall of Famer.
“I would vote for him, for sure. He would be well deserved to be in there,” Reid said three days before his Kansas City Chiefs face the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome.
“He was a tremendous leader, a brilliant guy offensively. He also had a good feel for both sides of the ball and special teams. I love the way he handled the players. He was tough enough on them but on the other hand he cared about them as guys.”
Holmgren is a finalist for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, as the lone coach representative on that list.
The 2025 class will be unveiled during the “NFL Honors” awards show, which begins at 7 p.m. MST Thursday night. It will be televised on Fox.
Holmgren was a head coach for 17 years in the NFL, spending seven seasons at Green Bay before 10 more with the Seattle Seahawks. He finished with a 161-111 record during the regular season and 13-11 in the playoffs.
Holmgren’s teams made the postseason 12 of his 17 seasons.
He won a Super Bowl title in Green Bay and made it to another Super Bowl with the Packers.
Holmgren also led Seattle to a Super Bowl, which they lost, giving him a 1-2 record in Super Bowls.
Reid served as Holmgren’s assistant offensive line and tight ends coach for five seasons before taking over as quarterbacks coach and assistant head coach for two seasons.
“I worked for Mike Holmgren, who at the time I didn’t think anybody did it better as a head coach — I had a hard time believing anybody did it better — I’ve been coaching for a couple years now as a head coach and I still feel that same way,” Reid said earlier this week.
The two are former BYU ties — Reid played offensive line for the Cougars and was a graduate assistant there, while Holmgren was BYU’s quarterbacks coach in the early 1980s.
They were both at the school together in 1982, when Reid served one year as grad assistant and Holmgren was in his first year as QBs coach.
After their time together in Green Bay, Holmgren went on to coach the Seahawks while Reid ended up in Philadelphia as the Eagles’ head coach.
Former Utah wide receiver Steve Smith also a Hall of Fame finalist
Former Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith, who played at the University of Utah, is up for selection as well in the 2025 class.
He is one of 15 modern-era player candidates up for consideration. The selection committee can choose up to five players in that category to make the hall. They must receive at least an 80% positive vote for election.
Smith starred for 17 seasons in the NFL, including 14 in Carolina before his final three seasons in Baltimore.
During that time, Smith was a two-time first-team All-Pro, a one-time second-team All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler, while finishing his career with 1,031 receptions for 14,731 yards and 81 touchdowns during the regular season.
He also had 1,001 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on 59 receptions over 11 playoff games.
