Roger Craig, a key part of the 49ers’ dynasty in the 1980s, and two of the pillars in the New England Patriots’ dynasty — Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft — are among the finalists for the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
Craig, former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson and former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman L.C. Greenwood were the three seniors candidates advancing to the final stage in results announced Wednesday. Belichick was picked as the coaching candidate and Kraft was picked as the contributor.
Former 49ers coaches George Seifert, Mike Shanahan and Mike Holmgren were among the candidates that did not advance.
The members of the 50-person selection committee can vote for three of the finalists under rules put in place last year with candidates needing 80% of the votes to make it into the Hall. A maximum of three candidates can reach that threshold. If no candidate gets 80%, the top vote getter will be elected.
The committee will also vote on 15 modern era finalists, including former 49ers running back Frank Gore, that are still to be determined with between three and five of those candidates guaranteed to get into the Hall.
Craig also was a key part of the title-winning teams in San Francisco in the 1984, 1988 and 1989 seasons. His 410 yards from scrimmage in those Super Bowl wins are the third-most ever behind Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Franco Harris.
Craig was the first player ever to have 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in the same season, which happened in 1985, and he led the NFL with 2,036 yards from scrimmage in 1988.
Anderson was a four-time Pro Bowler for Cincinnati and won the MVP in 1981, when he helped the Bengals reach their first Super Bowl before losing to the 49ers. When Anderson retired after the 1986 season, he ranked sixth all time with 32,838 yards passing and 13th with 197 TD passes.
Greenwood is the most prominent member of the Steelers dominant defense that helped the franchise win four Super Bowl titles in a span of six seasons from 1974-79 who is not in the Hall. Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, Donnie Shell and Mel Blount have already been inducted.
Greenwood was a member of the all-decade team for the 1970s, was a two-time All-Pro and made six Pro Bowls in a 13-year career. He retired a year before sacks became an official stat but research from Pro Football Reference credits him with 78 over his career as a defensive end on those teams.
Belichick was hired by Kraft in 2000 and led the franchise to six Super Bowl wins titles and three other appearances in the title game during an 18-year span from 2001-18. Belichick’s 333 wins in the regular season and playoffs with New England and Cleveland are the second most to Don Shula’s 347. He won AP NFL Coach of the Year three times.
Belichick also was one of the game’s top defensive assistants before taking over New England, winning two more Super Bowls as defensive coordinator for the New York Giants.
Belichick’s career did have blemishes. He was implicated in a sign-stealing scandal dubbed “Spygate” in the 2007 season and was fined $500,000 after the team was caught filming defensive signals from the New York Jets during a game.
Belichick’s tenure in New England ended following the 2023 season and he just finished his first year coaching in college at North Carolina.
Among the coaches that did not advance from the semifinals, Seifert, Shanahan and Tom Coughlin are two-time Super Bowl-winning head coaches.
Seifert helped San Francisco win two Super Bowls in 1982 and 1985 as a defensive coordinator under Bill Walsh and then to consecutive championships in 1989-90 as head coach after taking over for Walsh. Seifert was the 49ers head coach for eight seasons, leading the team to a 98-30 record with seven playoff berths He won at least 10 games in all eight seasons in charge of the 49ers and his winning percentage (.766) is the best for any coach on a single team with at least 100 games.
Shanahan, whose son, Kyle, coaches the 49ers, was the offensive coordinator under Seifert on San Francisco’s 1994 championship team and then won back-to-back titles as head coach in Denver in 1997-98. Shanahan finished with a 170-138 record for the Raiders, Broncos and Washington.
Also missing the cut were Houston Oilers founder and key AFL figure Bud Adams; former AFL star receiver Otis Taylor; Buffalo Bills special teams standout Steve Tasker and former 49ers assistant coach Mike Holmgren.
Holmgren won a Super Bowl as the Packers’ head coach in 1996 after winning rings in 1988 and 1989 as the 49ers’ offensive coordinator. The San Francisco native got his coaching start at Abraham Lincoln High. After five seasons at San Francisco State he joined the 49ers in 1986 as the quarterbacks coach. Holmgren preceded Shanahan as offensive coordinator in San Francisco and also had a big impact on future coaches with Andy Reid and Jon Gruden going on to win Super Bowls after working under Holmgren in Green Bay..
Kraft bought the Patriots in 1994 with the team’s 10 Super Bowl appearances since then the most for any owner in NFL history. The team went to the Super Bowl in his third season under Bill Parcells and then nine more times with Belichick as coach.
Kraft has been a member on several NFL ownership committees and played a key role in resolving the 2011 lockout.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.