Cliff Branch, Dick Vermeil selected as Pro Football Hall of Fame 2022 finalists

“He dreamed of this. He wanted this so badly that he tasted it,” Anderson said in a call with Baker. “He was just talking about this – when he went to the Hall of Fame.”

Vermeil stepped closer to the Hall of Fame just a few weeks after attending the residence of his former star recipient Isaac Bruce in Canton. Vermeil achieved success in college ranks and led the UCLA to a 15-5-3 mark in two seasons before jumping into the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1976. Vermeil led the Eagles to the Super Bowl in the 1980s, where they lost to the Branch’s Raiders.

Vermeil took a 15-year break before returning to coaching with the St. Louis Rams in 1997, leading them to the Super Bowl in 1999. Vermeil directed Turkey’s largest show and produced an exciting victory for the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV and placed the Rams League among the elite for the new millennium. He left coaching after winning before returning for the last time to lead the Kansas City Chiefs from 2001-2005 and guiding them together in the playoffs before retiring in early 2006.

Vermeil ended his coaching career with an NFL record of 120-109, including a post-season 6-5 and a Super Bowl 1-1.

“I’m shocked,” Vermeil said through the Hall of Fame. “I’m not sure I belong there.”