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Kevin Greene Deserved Hall of Fame Over Charles Haley

By Erik Lambert

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Aug 8, 2015, Canton, OH, USA; Charles Haley speaks at the 2015 Pro Football Enshrinement Cermony at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

This must be prefaced by a simple statement.  Defensive end Charles Haley belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  That is not in question.  The man had over 100 sacks in his career and is the only NFL player in existence with five Super Bowl rings.  It’s enough to get him in, but it should not have gotten him in ahead of Kevin Greene.

Yes, it’s noted how much having rings matters in this league and Greene has none.  His best opportunity came in 1995 with the Pittsburgh Steelers and they lost in Super Bowl XXX to Haley’s Cowboys.  However, the Hall of Fame should be about on the field impact and not having the ridiculous good fortune of playing on great teams.

Keep in mind Haley had Joe Montana, Steve Young and Troy Aikman as his quarterbacks for the majority of his career.  Greene had guys like Jim Everett, Neil O’Donnell, Kerry Collins, and Steve Beuerlein.  Sure some of them made the Pro Bowl but none were anywhere near the class of what Haley enjoyed.

Then there are the numbers.  Greene enjoys an advantage over Haley in almost every statistical category that matters.

  • Games Played:  228 to 169
  • Tackles:  733 to 498
  • Quarterback Sacks:  160 to 100.5
  • Interceptions:  5 to 2
  • Safeties:  3 to 1

If anybody wanted a clear indication of how much being on a team that wins the Super Bowl matters in Hall of Fame voting, then this comparison shows it.  Kevin Greene was the better player across almost the exact same stretch of time.  He went to the same number of Pro Bowls (5) and only missed 12 games in 15 seasons.  Haley missed 39 in 13 seasons.

Besides, Greene actually has a ring.  He helped the Green Bay Packers win the Super Bowl in 2010 as linebackers coach.

With all due respect to the voters, they got this one wrong.

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