Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Buddy Parker has advanced one step closer to possible enshrinement into the hallowed halls of Canton.
Parker was previously among the 12 coaches up for voting to advance into the semifinalists stage in the Coach category for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026. Now, he’s among the nine semifinalists up for voting to whittle the group down to one selection.
That group includes Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin, Mike Holmgren, Chuck Knox, Parker, Dan Reeves, Marty Schottenheimer, George Seifert, and Mike Shanahan.
The nine Semifinalists in the Coach category for possible election as part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 are: Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin, Mike Holmgren, Chuck Knox, Buddy Parker, Dan Reeves, Marty Schottenheimer, George Seifert and Mike Shanahan. pic.twitter.com/EXmvfSFJf8
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 5, 2025
Parker was the Steelers’ head coach from 1957 through 1964, putting together some of the best seasons in franchise history to that point. In his second season as head coach of the Steelers, Parker led Pittsburgh to its first winning season, culminating in a 7-4-1 mark at the end of the 1958 season.
That success largely continued until Parker and the Steelers broke through with a 9-5 record in 1962, marking his best season with the Black and Gold. Two seasons later though, Parker resigned ahead of the 1965 season, turning the franchise over to Mike Nixon and eventually Bill Austin, leading to some dark days of Steelers football once again.
Fortunately, those dark days led to Chuck Noll, who took over in 1969 and laid the groundwork for the Steelers’ dynasty in the 70s.
In Parker’s time with the Steelers, he had a .500 or better record in five of his eight seasons, marking the best stretch of football the Steelers had to that point under the Rooney family. Parker went 51-47-6 with the Steelers.
According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Coach Blue-Ribbon Committee will meet virtually in mid-November and through a sequence of reduction votes will come to a vote for one finalist in the Coach category for the Class of 2026.
Parker was last up for the Hall of Fame with the Class of 2024, but was ultimately snubbed in the coach category. Now, he advances further in the discussion.
He finds himself up against some Goliaths in the coaching circle in NFL history. Things haven’t gone well at North Carolina for Bill Belichick, but he’s the greatest coach of all-time in the NFL. The rings and consistent success year after year speaks for itself. Tom Coughlin has two Super Bowl rings, Mike Shanahan has two rings as a head coach and one as an assistant, and Chuck Knox was a three-time AP Coach of the Year in the NFL.
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