Former 49ers running back Frank Gore had heard former NFL quarterback turned analyst Chris Simms had been "on the fence" about whether the five-time Pro Bowl running back was Hall of Fame-worthy or not.
He got his chance to clear the air in a recent interview during the week leading up to Super Bowl LIV. That, of course, was after some mean-mugging from Gore.
Simms began the interview saying, "Frank Gore is mad at me," in which the 10-year veteran disagreed. But Simms did admit he had once said he was unsure if Gore was a Hall of Famer or not.
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That's one way to start an interview.
"As a running back, the more help you got, the easier it is," Gore told Simms during an episode of "Unbuttoned."
"Not that my guys didn't work hard, you know, I'm big on teams, and I respect them guys who I play with, but name a guy -- my first six years who you would be afraid of outside of ... "
"Game planning-wise," Simms interjected.
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"Yeah," Gore said. "You know what I'm saying?"
He then gave some examples such as Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who had Antonio Brown, LeVeon Bell and JuJu Smith-Schuster to lean on.
Gore had a lot of quarterbacks over the years. In 2005, his rookie season, he alone had four quarterbacks who had over three starts each.
Simms mentioned he wasn't sure he could confidently put him in the HOF class because of the fact Gore wasn't a top three or five running back consistently each season.
Gore averaged 4.3 yards per attempt across 10 seasons and averaged 1,282.9 total yards per season
"I'm not going to lie, I'm not the flashiest guy, but I got the job done," Gore said.
Simms agreed and appreciated the real conversation.
But the doubting simply motivated Gore, a player who Bills quarterback Josh Allen called the "greatest human being alive." And one who gave 49ers running back Raheem Mostert encouragement despite a heart-wrenching Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs.
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Gore, a free agent, hopes to head into his 16th season in the NFL. And while his numbers have slowly dwindled, he hasn't. He shows no signs of slowing down and it appears he will keep going until he's in Canton.
And yes, Simms ultimately admitted Gore indeed is a Hall of Famer.