Pro Football Hall Of Fame Announces 26 Semifinalists

The official site of the Pro Football Hall of Fame has posted the list of 26 semifinalists for the Hall of Fame Class of 2012. The headliners are the two first-year nominees, coach Bill Parcells and Kansas City Chiefs standout guard Will Shields, although the site goes to great pains to explain that Parcells is first-year nominee who was actually a finalist two previous times (after his first retirement, before the Hall of Fame instituted a waiting period for coaches). This is the first time that Steve Atwater, Clay Matthews, Karl Mecklenburg and Ron Wolf have advanced to the semifinal round.

Eleven of these semifinalists will be eliminated in the next round of voting (conducted via mail ballot), and that list of 15 will be announced in January, then whittled down to the actual Class of 2012 by the selection committee the day before the Super Bowl.

Here is the complete list of semifinalists, via the Hall of Fame's website:

Steve Atwater

, S – 1989-1998 Denver Broncos, 1999 New York Jets

Jerome Bettis

, RB – 1993-95 Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams, 1996-2005 Pittsburgh Steelers

Tim Brown

, WR/KR – 1988-2003 Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, 2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Cris Carter

, WR – 1987-89 Philadelphia Eagles, 1990-2001 Minnesota Vikings, 2002 Miami Dolphins

Don Coryell

, Coach – 1973-77 St. Louis Cardinals, 1978-1986 San Diego Chargers

Roger Craig

, RB – 1983-1990 San Francisco 49ers, 1991 Los Angeles Raiders, 1992-93 Minnesota Vikings

Terrell Davis

, RB – 1995-2001 Denver Broncos

Dermontti Dawson

, C – 1988-2000 Pittsburgh Steelers

Edward DeBartolo, Jr

., Owner – 1979-2000 San Francisco 49ers

Chris Doleman

, DE/LB – 1985-1993, 1999 Minnesota Vikings, 1994-95 Atlanta Falcons, 1996-98 San Francisco 49ers

Kevin Greene

, LB/DE – 1985-1992 Los Angeles Rams, 1993-95 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1996, 1998-99 Carolina Panthers, 1997 San Francisco 49ers

Charles Haley

, DE/LB – 1986-1991, 1999 San Francisco 49ers, 1992-96 Dallas Cowboys

Cortez Kennedy

, DT – 1990-2000 Seattle Seahawks

Curtis Martin

, RB – 1995-97 New England Patriots, 1998-2005 New York Jets

Clay Matthews

, LB – 1978-1993 Cleveland Browns, 1994-96 Atlanta Falcons

Karl Mecklenburg

, LB – 1983-1994 Denver Broncos

Bill Parcells

, Coach – 1983-1990 New York Giants, 1993-96 New England Patriots, 1997-99 New York Jets, 2003-06 Dallas Cowboys

Andre Reed

, WR – 1985-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000 Washington Redskins

Willie Roaf

, T – 1993-2001 New Orleans Saints, 2002-05 Kansas City Chiefs

Donnie Shell

, S – 1974-1987 Pittsburgh Steelers

Will Shields

, G – 1993-2006 Kansas City Chiefs

Paul Tagliabue

, Commissioner – 1989-2006 National Football League

Steve Tasker

, ST/WR – 1985-86 Houston Oilers, 1986-1997 Buffalo Bills

Aeneas Williams

, CB/S – 1991-2000 Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, 2001-04 St. Louis Rams

Ron Wolf

, Contributor – 1963-1974, 1978-1990 Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, 1975-77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1990 New York Jets, 1991 -2001 Green Bay Packers

George Young

, Contributor – 1968-1974 Baltimore Colts, 1975-78 Miami Dolphins, 1979-1997 New York Giants, 1998-2001 National Football League