Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Jack Silverstein talks Hall of Fame candidacies for Charles Tillman, Olin Kreutz, Lance Briggs

Episode Date: February 10, 2026

Leila Rahimi, Marshall Harris and Mark Grote were joined by Chicago sports historian Jack Silverstein to discuss the Pro Football Hall of Fame candidacies of Bears greats Charles Tillman, Olin Kreutz and Lance Briggs. Later, Rahimi, Harris and Grote held the Halftime segment.

Rahimi Harrison Grody The great Kevin Harlan I just pulled through the Taco Bell Drive-thru and I've got a couple of big nasty Supreme Burritos right here waiting to beat. You know the first thing they ask you now are you using the app.

The app, no, I just want my burrito. I don't want to use an app. Bring a lot of mild sauce because I'm going to squirt it all over the way. Put some hot sauce on my burrito, baby. Rahimi Harris and Grotie, Midday's 10 a.m. To 2 on the score. And the Colts have had a hard time

season covering kicks. It's Hester trying to work it back to the middle. Gets past the first wave and here he goes. It's Hester. Inside the 30, Hester's going to take it over away for a touchdown and no flag 92 yards. Devin Hester, the call courtesy of CBS. This is Rahimi Harris and Grody on 104-3 to score and the pro football Hall of Fame class was introduced as it tends to be during the Super Bowl and the Super Bowl festivities. And for more on that, we decided to bring in our Chicago sports historian Jack Silverstein. You can check out Jack's work at readjack.com. He also is joining us via the Circa Sports Illinois hotline.

Download the Circa Sports app today. Hey, Jack. How are you? Hi, everybody. I'm doing well. How are you all? Good. I think we're still trying to figure out, you know, the process. it got front and center in the news when it came to the discussion surrounding whether or not Belichick should be in it, the process overall, which has gotten a lot of scrutiny, rightfully so. How would you describe the selection process and the results we're seeing as far as these Hall of Fame classes being put together? Well, first of all, this is a great class.

The controversy about Belichick and Robert Kraft aside this is a really wonderful quintet. of players. I mean, the whole purpose of a Hall of Fame is to honor the very best. And here you've got Drew Breeze, one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, one of the most accurate, a player who at one point, you know, we all look at the 70% completion percentage is a good metric now for who's doing well. Drew Breeze retired. He had more than half of all of the 70% seasons in NFL history. You've got Larry Fitzgerald, who is one of the very, very greatest wide receivers ever. I ranked him last summer with a group of historians as the second best wide receiver ever after Jerry Rice. You've got Adam Vinatari, who's probably the greatest

kicker ever, has some of the greatest kicks in NFL history, arguably the greatest in the snow and two Super Bowl winning kicks, all-time leading score. You've got Luke Keekly, who was dominant. And then you've got Roger Craig, who's really the purpose of having a senior committee. which is to say some players have fallen out of favor for some reason. They didn't get elected, but now with fresh eyes, let's look again. There's something, you know, essential about someone. They stand the test of time. And that's Roger Craig with the first ever 1,000,000 season.

He had the 1988 NEA MVP Award, which is the one that's voted on by players. So he didn't win what's considered the actual MVP, but he won an MVP that's voted by players. and it is a phenomenal class. I'm happy for all five of them. The controversy has overshadowed the fact that this is a great, great group. And we look at that. And the first thing that I've been trying to kind of work through is how do they fix the process? Because I think Bill Belichick's old mission is more about what voters were faced with

and tasked with than it is about whether or not Bill Belichick is a deserving Hall of Famer. is. But like you just said, so are the people who got into the Hall of Fame, Roger Craig being the one that came out of that. And we still, I don't believe we know if he even got the 40 votes because they just give it to the person with the highest number of votes if no one gets to 40 out of 50 votes. That is correct. So we don't know. All we know is that he had the highest and that no one else was at 40. How do you fix the process? So the first thing that they would need to do is they should go back to having five modern era candidates basically get in. You don't need these smaller classes.

I think one thing that the Pro Football Hall of Fame does a really good job of compared to basketball and baseball is really getting the best of the best in. You're talking about a sport with 53 players on a roster, 11 on each side, with so many different job descriptions. And you really want to be able to honor all of them because they all factor into whether you win or lose on Sunday and whether you win or lose all the way into the playoffs and to a Super Bowl.

So to me, you want to be able to honor all of these different positions and that means that you need enough slots for all of them. So that would be number one, I would say, get back to that. You definitely want to separate the seniors from the coaches and the contributors.

You don't want to force voters to combine those. Voters should definitely have a non-voting meeting annually, so a meeting where they're just discussing all the candidates, all the new candidates and all the candidates who are in danger of slipping away. And there needs to be more communication, certainly, between the hall and the voters. And I would like to see more Hall of Famers involved in the process. Man, the thing with Bill Belichick, I was shocked

that Bill Belichick did not get in. I organized last year. last summer and into the fall, a group of 19 NFL historians. So some of the very, very best historians. And we put together a recommendation list for the hall. This was when there were 34 seniors, 21 contributors, and 12 coaches. And I asked everyone to take every candidate and vote, yes, you approve, no, you don't approve, like of them getting in, or you have no preference. And of all of those candidates, the only person who had yeses across the board was Bill Belichick. And then when they got that final group of five, I had that same group of historians vote in the exact same way that they do it. And the only person who got to 80% was Bill Belichick.

So I was very surprised, even though for about a year now, we had heard whispers of these kinds of complaints from voters. SpyGate was a real one. hitting a coach against players was a real one. I know that fans will look at this and they'll say, how could you not vote for Belichick? I agree they should have voted for Belichick. But if you're a San Francisco fan, you're over the moon right now that Roger Craig got into the hall.

And if Ken Anderson had gotten in or Elsie Greenwood, then those fans would have. But to put it in Chicago terms, let's say Belichick was on the ballot two years ago. And voters were being asked to choose between him and Steve McMichael. Obviously, Bill Belichick has a better hall resume than Steve

McMichael. There aren't five people in NFL history with a better resume than Bill Belichick. But if you'd ask Bears fans, would you be okay if Bill Belichick waited one more year to make sure that we get Steve McMichael in or Jay Higgenberg or Wilver Marshall or Joe Fortinado,

whoever your Bears senior is? You probably would have said, yes, that's okay. And every fan base in the NFL has three or four or five seniors who they think this person has been overlooked, let's get them in before they pass away, et cetera. And in that respect, voters are doing their duty to make sure that they get people in when they're alive and able to appreciate it and celebrate it. And I don't think that San Francisco fans are complaining that much that Bill Belichick didn't get in. And this was part of my surprise because the Hall of Fame president came out. You know, Laila, you mentioned that

people are now paying attention to the bylaws in the process. The Hall of Fame president came out and really put the onus completely on the voters. And it is on them because they vote. But he came out and said, you know, you need to vote for who is most deserving. That's what the bylaws say. I've read the bylaws. I read the new bylaws when they were issued in August 2024. with almost no voter input. And that's not what the bylaws say. I mean, they just say that you have to vote for five of seven or in the other group, three of five, and that you have to focus on what's on the field.

And SpyGate is something that is on the field. So that's fair game. I've read the bylaws. I don't know what he's saying in saying that voters violated or need to be investigated. He specifically called out. who's the Kansas City selector. And Gregorian wrote, you know, I didn't vote for Bill Belichick. And the reason was I voted for these three seniors.

They might not ever get another chance. And the Hall of Fame president said, like, you can't do that, but you absolutely can do that. So there's this weird battle that's coming between the president and the voters with other gold jackets, Hall of Famers, kind of in the mix. two, I would just go back to making sure that you're getting five moderns in, go back to evaluating seniors, see who's really missing. As of this year, there were 81 all-decade players from the 1920s to the 1990s who are not in Canton. And Sterling Sharp wasn't even all-decade.

McMichael wasn't all-decade. Ken Riley wasn't all-decade. Chuck Howley wasn't all-decade. I mean, these are all seniors who have gotten in in the past few years. So think of how many players, for a variety of reasons, have fallen through the cracks. And voters take that really seriously. And I know the Hall takes it really seriously because they want to honor the game's greats. And that's kind of the standstill that we're at right now.

Mongo is Steve McMichael, one of those guys that almost did fall through the cracks. And it's great that he didn't. And now, using your phraseology, Jack, in Chicago terms, there are three, Bears players, retired Bears players that we could all look at right now and think maybe there's a chance. And I'm talking about Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman, and our guy here at the score, Olin Kruitts. Who has the easiest path to the Hall of Fame and who has the most difficult road? I think Charles has the easiest path. And his path incredibly has, his case has gotten stronger in retirement. I've never seen anything like it, but it's because

people are starting to wake up to what he was doing. How many times, Bears fans, how many times from 2005 to 2010 were we saying Charles was a pro bowler this year and he got passed over for a corner who had a career year in interceptions? It happened all the time. And people didn't realize what they were looking at with Charles because they didn't account for force fumbles. He was able to, he wasn't the first person to punch the ball out, but he was the first person. person to make it like, you know, an operational weapon that could be used anytime he needed. And his case, you know, we talk about in the media world about Earned Media versus Paid Media. Charles Tillman is the king of Earned Media because every football game now, in the NFL and college

football, every weekend, you're hearing announcers mention his name. Yeah. The peanut punch is, it's coached. And the NFL a few years ago even put out a memo to teams saying, this is how you coach the peanut punch. This is how we want to avoid people just punching each other. Like, this is how you do it correctly. It was also a memo to, like, officials. This is how you officiate.

It was amazing. So Charles's case has gotten a lot better. Lance's case has gotten a lot harder because they've started to really look at outside linebackers based on sex. and Lance wasn't he could rush the passer but he was a much more of an all-around outside linebacker like Derek Brooks and I really hope that voters slow down I mean the reason that I rail against Eli Manning or you know this year Frank Gore and Jason Whitten and these guys are of varying levels but the bottom line is that they they don't need to be in the finalist room so soon and you can't elect someone. without making them a finalist. And voters have shown that when they hear new cases, it like in the senior pool, that they become open to those new cases.

Roger Craig is a modern was only discussed once. Sterling Sharp was never discussed. McMichael, Riley, Cleco, Howley, these guys were never discussed. Gratashar was. So when they hear new arguments, they adapt to those new arguments. That's why I think you need to really slow down

with Eli Manning or Gore or Witten or or next year, Rathlisberger or whoever else, slow it down, make sure you're getting all these guys in the room. Lance Briggs is a big one. And that is, as Olin can tell you, you guys should ask Olin about this. I don't know why centers get overlooked. Hildenberg, too. I didn't even mention J. Hilgummer and all that.

The guys are a six-time pro bowler. Absolutely. If you look at all the position groups and you go backwards and you say, all right, how far back do I need to go to see five players elected? So, for example, cornerback. You've got Eric Allen, Rondebarber, Revis, Charles Woodson, Champ Bailey, Tileaw, all since 2019. Wide receivers, you only have to go back to 2018. Inside linebackers, 2018.

The position group that you have to go back the farthest is center to 1987. That's the last five modern era centers. And basically what the voters do is they sort of figure out this guy's a Hall of Famer. We're going to bring him in the room. We're going to elect him within five years. And we're not going to talk about any other centers. The only centers they talk about are the ones that they elect. And they hit slam dunks.

Kevin Mawai, Dermani Dawson. Bruce Matthews, he played all the positions on the line. So that's not quite fair. But they don't have this range of players the way that they do now with wide receivers or pass rushers. and if Bears fans want to support Olin Kruits, start talking about all the centers, not just Olin, Tom Nalen, and Jeff Saturday, and Matt Burke, and just like there are tons and tons of centers.

We're going to see Jason Kelsey get in in a few years. Where's Nick Mangold who just tragically passed away young? Like, where are the center? The center is the only player who touches the ball on every play. And we've seen here as Bears fans what happens when you do. don't have that strength up the middle. We saw what a difference Drew Dalman made this year. And it's bizarre to me that voters just, they don't go for centers.

Ask Olin about it. I'm, you know, I'm sure he'll have some thoughts. So that's what, it's almost like Olin would have an easier job if they valued his position. It's not even him, really. It's the position. Jack, this has been incredibly informative. Thank you so much for. joining us. If you want more of what Jack brings to the table and you do, go to readjack.com,

as in R-E-A-D, readjack.com. And get the book. Why We Root. Yes. Why We Root is Jack's book. And he also has, where are you socially posting right now? Because I know your Twitter account got taken hostage. My Twitter's dead. Oh, no. I got one of those like, I got like one of those crypto hacks. Same. And it can't, it. It. No, this is crazy. It came from Richmond Webb because we've been in touch on Hall of Fame stuff. And he tweeted me, he DM me and was like, hey, I'm in the running for this podcast thing. Vote for me.

And usually I don't do that, but it was the day after he hadn't got into the hall. And I was like, oh, man, Richmond Webb, he's such a nice guy. He should be in the hall. By the way, voters, vote for Richmond Webb. You have one more year. So I went and clicked on the link like a dofess, which I never do. Richmond Webb needed the Miami Dolphins social media team to get him unlocked. So, hey, Bear's social media team, help your boy.

Like, get me out of here. But, yeah, but otherwise, my substack, rejack. Substack.com driving to my 90s Bulls book is the best. I started TikTok. Listen to me. I'm on Instagram at a shot on Elo, you know, all over the place, but not on Twitter these days. Well, good to know, Jack, and yeah, TikTok is what you're trying. Are you on TikTok? Is that what you meant?

I am. That is what I meant. Okay. That happens. Okay, so you can check out Jack's work on TikTok and also at the places we just mentioned. Jack, thanks so much. Thank you, everybody. Thanks for having me. Great to hear from you. Coming up next, it's halftime.

Yeah, there's a reason people are saying John Moran should be traded to the Utah Jazz and it has everything to do with the fact that if one official has his way, you'll be able to pack. Next.