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Cliff Branch and Dick Vermeil were shortlisted for the Professional Football Hall of Fame Class of 2022, long overdue for one of the best wide receivers of the 1970s and a Super Bowl-winning coach. Branch was selected as the senior finalist and Vermeil as the coaches finalist, respectively selected by the senior committee and the coaches committee.
Branch was one of the greatest receivers of his time, although he was eclipsed by Professional Football Hall of Fame members Fred Biletnikoff and Dave Casper. One of the best deep-ball threats of the 1970s, Branch won four straight Pro Bowl caps and three straight All-Pro first-team honors in the middle of the decade. He led the NFL in receiving yards once (1974), receiving two touchdowns (1974, 1976) and receiving yards per game twice (1974, 1976) – winning three Super Bowl titles with the Raiders.
Branch caught 501 passes for 8,685 yards (17.3 yards per catch) and 67 touchdowns in 14 seasons with the Raiders, but his legacy came in the playoffs. Branch had 73 catches for 1,289 yards in 22 playoff games, all records until Jerry Rice beat them. He has 14 catches for 181 yards and three Super Bowl touchdowns and is one of six players to have three Super Bowl touchdowns. Branch is still fourth in NFL history in playoff receiving yards and third in catching yards (17.66) among receivers with at least 50 playoff receptions.
“He dreamed of it. He wanted it so badly, he could taste it,” Cliff’s sister Elaine Anderson said Tuesday afternoon via the Pro Football Hall of Fame in a press release. “That was all he was talking about – when he went to the Hall of Fame.”
Vermeil was known to rebuild teams, which he did with the Eagles in the late 1970s. In Vermeil’s fifth season, the Eagles won their first conference title in 20 years and reached the Super Bowl XV in 1980. After seven years with Philadelphia, Vermeil was exhausted and took a 15-year hiatus from coaching.
Vermeil sidelined with the Rams in 1997, winning just four games in his sophomore season before orchestrating “The Greatest Show on Turf” and leading St. Louis to a 13-3 record and a victory in the Super Bowl XXXIV. Vermeil retired again, only to return and coach five more seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. He finished 120-108 in 15 seasons, going 1-1 in the Super Bowl.
Vermeil is just one of seven head coaches in NFL history to take two different franchises to the Super Bowl. He finished with six 10-game seasons, three division titles (all with different teams) and a 6-5 playoff record. The 1999 Rams team from Vermeil has five players in the Professional Football Hall of Fame.
“I’m overwhelmed. I’m not sure I fit there,” said Vermeil. He also said the coaching committee had his “deepest appreciation and gratitude”.
To be elected in 2022, Branch and Vermeil must receive 80% of the votes of the selection committee when it meets early next year. The selection committee will consider 18 finalists: the senior (Branch), the coach (Vermeil), a contributor (to be named on August 31) and 15 finalists from the modern era.
All finalist coaches have been elected since the committee was created in 2019. Senior finalists have been elected in each season since 2012.
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