Bill Nunn

""He was one of the best talent evaluators to come down the pike," said John Wooten, former chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance and someone who played for 10 NFL seasons before advancing from scout to personnel executive with several clubs. They should be able to dream and know that their dream can come to fruition. Bill Nunn, the man who steered Hall of Famers John Stallworth and Donnie Shell from HBCU schools the the Pittsburgh Steelers, becomes the first scout ever nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His lessons and stories are still evident in our everyday work. I was always really impressed and marked by that." There are only 29 Contributors in the Hall, with 10 coming since 2015, when the Board of Directors voted to pull them from the rest of the field and allow one or two to be voted on separately each year (three will be enshrined as part of the Centennial Class of 2020).Interestingly, four general managers have been selected for induction over the past five years -- Bill Polian, Ron Wolf, Bobby Beathard and George Young -- presumably because of their ability to build championship rosters. "But Bill brought the potential folks to the table that Chuck and his coaching staff could put in positions to win. And we are excited he was chosen by the contributor committees as a finalist.

"Chuck Noll was so important; he changed our mindsets from losers to winners," Rooney told me in a recent phone interview. Go behind the scenes on how this record-breaking deal came about.

PITTSBURGH -- Next year's Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony might as well be a giant Not only will the Steelers have three members inducted as part of the delayed Class of 2020 celebration, but more could be joining them in the Class of 2021.Longtime scout-turned-director of player personnel Bill Nunn, who died in 2014, was selected as a contributor finalist Tuesday.

The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. They should be able to know that there is a place for them in Canton as something other than a player or coach. Lance Zierlein identifies one pivotal rookie for each of the NFL's 32 organizations.Earl Thomas is no longer with the Baltimore Ravens after the team released the star safety to cap a drama-filled weekend. He never got distracted by the football, and he kept evaluations pure from a pedigree standpoint. Jim Trotter explains why the former Steelers scout's induction is long overdue.Which newbies must deliver for their respective teams to succeed in 2020? Nunn was a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Courier, one of the most influential publications serving predominantly Black communities in the United States. His lessons and stories are still evident in our everyday work. Nunn was later the team’s assistant director of player personnel. It's easy to forget just how bad the Steelers were before establishing themselves as the team of the 1970s with four Super Bowl victories in six years. All three of them have been voted into the hall. "I sort of make the case in the book how Nunn was [symbolic] of what became the Rooney Rule," said Jim Rooney, referring to the league policy which, at inception, required teams to interview at least one minority candidate in a head-coaching search. Five of the nine members (determined on a rotating basis) on the committee met to discuss each of the candidates and select the finalist.Two consultants assisted the Selectors this year, providing additional insights on the candidates. Kelli Dugan, Cox Media Group National Content Desk Kelli Dugan, Cox Media Group National Content Desk Kelli Dugan, Cox Media Group National Content Desk Things of that nature. Ali Bhanpuri identifies veteran-team fits at five different positions.Is there any way his break from Bill Belichick DIDN'T affect Tom Brady? "Had they not done their jobs well, I don't think we would have seen the expansion of opportunities for Blacks like we did with scouting and other front-office positions.

"Most teams did not have the sophisticated mindset of evaluating 'position specific' or using position characteristics and so forth. From 1969 through 1975, the Steelers drafted 25 players from HBCUs, more than any other NFL club and twice the league average, per Rooney. My point is not to insinuate something nefarious; rather it is to say that representation matters.There are Black kids and Latinx kids who love the game but never will be good enough to play it professionally.