Raider Nation's Tom Flores Earned the Hall of Fame Part 2

To have someone's name be part of a discussion for the Hall of Fame, the person needs to prove their success on and off the field.

A man with so many historical achievements, and a great deal of success on and off the field, has once again been rejected a seat at immortality. Not many players have transitioned as well to a coach, as Tom Flores did.

In 1971, a few years after retiring as a player, Flores was hired to return to the sidelines as a quarterbacks coach under Harvey Paul Johnson, head coach of the Buffalo Bills. A team that featured a young O.J. Simpson went 1-13.

The Autumn Wind is a Pirate

A year later, the Raiders hired Flores as a wide receivers coach. He would go on and serve as a wide receiver coach for seven years.

During his tenure with the Raiders, he had the opportunity to play and coach Hall of Fame wideout Fred Biletnikoff.

Raiders wide receiver that deserves to be in the HOF, the late Cliff Branch, said, "It's a tragedy that Tom Flores is not in the HOF, but his day is coming soon." Branch was coached by Flores between 1972 through 1985.

Flores would have a successful run under John Madden, earning his second Super Bowl ring in 1976, first as an assistant.

Jim Trotter of the NFL Network said, "First Latino to win the Super Bowl, how is he not in the HOF--I don't have an answer for that."

We can jump and talk about race, but much does it matter if he was Latino, white, or African-American. The man can play and coach.

Excuses have surfaced across the league of why Flores is not in Canton. ESPN reporter Paul Gutierrez pointed out some of the explanations on Flores. "Raider fatigue," meaning they are getting tired of adding Raiders in the HOF, as they have had players inducted almost every year since 2014. Lack of representation and advocacy, representatives not being present at Canton during committee meetings. Madden, who is a member of the committee had a poor phone connection during meetings. That left Flores to be represented by former ESPN NFL Insider John Clayton, a massive advocate of Flores, also served under coaches Don Coryell and Bill Cowher.

Earlier this year, a pair of congressmen, Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., and Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., introduced a resolution that recognizes Tom Flores for his achievements in professional football and calls for his induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"On the weekend, when we're celebrating the best in professional football, I can think of no better time to call for recognition of Tom Flores' accomplishments on the gridiron," Costa said.

Flores' success on the sidelines earned him a Super Bowl ring, earning credibility to take control of a Raiders team poised for success in the years to come.

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