Zach and the Hall: Tributes, When he Found Out, Easy Choice for Presenter

From one Hall of Famer to another, Miami Dolphins fans got a snippet the other night of the emotional moment when Jimmy Johnson had the privilege to tell Zach Thomas he would be joining him in Canton.

There really was no better choice for that honor than Johnson, which became obvious when Thomas was asked if he had decided on his presenter for the induction ceremonies, even though those are almost six months away.

Thomas answered the question by asking who would the reporter's guess, which was Jimmy Johnson.

“Yes, sir. Yes, sir," Thomas said. "All day long. He’s a guy that gave me a start my rookie year from the get-go. He threw me in the mix from the get-go. I was there for special teams. Mike Westhoff helped out in getting me there, but Jimmy put trust in me before we even played a football game. We played a preseason game and he was like, ‘All right, you’re going to be starting.’ And he told me, ‘Don’t let me down.’ And I never wanted to let him down because of that start, because man, I was a long shot."

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Two after the Class of 2023 was unveiled — with Zach Thomas among the nine inductees — NFL Network will offer a more complete look at the revelations, including Johnson surprising his former player at his home in South Florida. "Hall of Fame Knocks: Welcome to Canton" will air Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.

Zach Thomas, @JimmyJohnson and not a dry eye in sight.

Hall of Fame Knocks: Welcome to Canton ➡️ Saturday at 8:00 PM (EST) on @nflnetwork. pic.twitter.com/VEXbxKgInE
— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) February 10, 2023

ZACH THOMAS TRIBUTES

Meanwhile, the Zach tributes have continued since late Thursday night.

The Dolphins had Zach's election to the Hall featured on the elevator doors at their offices at Hard Rock Stadium, and there was this cool tribute from the Hard Rock Hotel.

I love what @HardRock did for our newest member to the #halloffame #zachthomas #54 #2022halloffame @MiamiDolphins pic.twitter.com/Jvy53QFN9M
— Dolphinator (@Dolphinator305) February 10, 2023

ZACH THOMAS HALL ELECTION REACTION

FORMER DOLPHINS HEAD COACH JIMMY JOHNSON

“Zach Thomas ranks as one of my favorite players of all time. Having coached 10 Hall of Fame players in my career, I believe Zach deserves to be in that group. Zach was a coach’s dream as a leader and a player. I never had any player that prepared himself as well as Zach. He belongs in the Hall.”

FORMER DOLPHINS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR MIKE WESTHOFF

“I’m so happy for Zach. I was the only NFL coach who scouted him at Texas Tech and that was to play special teams for us. After we drafted him in the fifth round, it didn’t take long for everyone with the Dolphins to realize that this kid could play in the league. I’ll never forget the day Jimmy Johnson said in a meeting that he was releasing Jack Del Rio and moving Zach up from the fourth team to be our starting middle linebacker. There was no one who studied or worked harder than Zach. Even when he was a starter, he still wanted to play special teams. He was the definition of a football player. He’s earned everything he’s gotten and I couldn’t be happier for him.”

FORMER DOLPHINS DEFENSIVE END TRACE ARMSTRONG

“Zach brought it every day. He brought it in practice. He brought it in the meeting rooms. I think one of the things that is really under-appreciated about Zach was that he wasn’t a ‘stats’ guy. He made plays when they mattered. Sometimes you just make plays and other times you will yourself into making plays. That was Zach. He willed himself into being a Hall of Fame player. When you look at all of them, I think he was one of the most complete inside linebackers to ever play the game.”

FORMER DOLPHINS DEFENSIVE TACKLE LARRY CHESTER

“Playing with Zach was like taking your defensive coordinator on the field with you. He could make checks just from seeing personnel come off the sideline. As good as he was on the field, outside of the game he was a damn great family.”

FORMER DOLPHINS QUARTERBACK DAN MARINO

“Everything about Zach said Hall of Fame. His statistics, how he played, the winning defenses he led, the Pro Bowls and his knowledge of the game all jump out at you. He was not only certain to be in the right spot and get to the ball, but he would get everyone else lined up before the snap. He was the quarterback of that defense and he made his teammates better. Even though I was a veteran when Zach arrived in 1996, I started looking at how he worked every day and how he prepared and it made you want to improve. You looked at his example and said, ‘l want to work like that guy.’ And then I saw him play and develop and he got better over 12 years and I soon recognized he was one of the greats of his time.”

FORMER NEW ORLEANS SAINTS QB DREW BREES

“Zach Thomas was like a rolling ball of butcher knives. Here he is, this undersized middle linebacker, and yet he would make every tackle. And when he’d hit you, he hit you so damn hard.”

FORMER INDIANAPOLIS COLTS QB PEYTON MANNING

“The most unnerving thing about playing Miami was Zach Thomas calling out all of your plays. He caused the most problems for me of any player I ever faced.”

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