The members of the Centennial Slate for the Class of 2020 to the NFL Hall of Fame celebrating 100 years of professional football will not be revealed until next week, but during pre-game activities on January 11, Pro Football Hall of Fame President David Bake surprised retired Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher by coming on the set of pre-game activities on CBS to welcome Cowher as the newest member of the Hall of Fame and the first to be named from the Centennial Slate.
Cowher, who is one of the NFL Today in studio on air talent, was working on the set with his fellow NFL Today crew when Baker came in and made the announcement. Cowher’s wife and daughter were also on hand when the announcement was made. An emotional Cowher hugged his family before returning to his NFL Today duties.
The Centennial Slate 2020 Class for the Hall of Fame was selected by a Blue-Ribbon Panel at the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. This is the first time Hall inductees were chosen by a selection committee inside the Hall of Fame.
The Centennial Slate will include 10 Senior members – players who have not been in a game for at least 25 years, three Contributors – non players who are not a coach, two coaches, and five modern era players who will be revealed along with the 2020 Class of inductees on the evening prior to the Super Bowl on February 1. Cowher and the other 14 inductees were selected from over 300 nominees.
The remaining Centennial Slate members will be revealed on the NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” beginning at 7am on January 15.
As only the second head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bill Cowher led the team to 10 playoff games, nine Division titles, and two Super Bowl appearances with one win in a 15 year period.
Feature photo credit: By Erik Drost – Pro Football Hall of Fame, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66527470