Tom Flores’ wait has ended.
The former Raiders and Seahawks head coach has earned election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2021. The new class is being announced during the NFL Honors show Saturday night.
Flores, elected as the only coach finalist on the ballot, was the first Hispanic quarterback to win a Super Bowl ring and the first minority head coach to win a Lombardi Trophy. His Raiders won Super Bowl XV and Super Bowl XVIII.
Flores won Super Bowl IV as a backup quarterback for the Chiefs and Super Bowl XI as an assistant coach of the Raiders. Mike Ditka is the only other person in NFL history to win a Super Bowl as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
The coaching category is a new addition to the ballot, with Jimmy Johnson and Bill Cowher earning election in the expanded class last year.
Flores went 91-56 in nine years with the Raiders. He also had an 8-3 record in the postseason.
Flores, who turns 84 next month, finished his head coaching career in Seattle. He went only 14-34 in three years with the Seahawks, and the team fired him after the 1994 season.
His election leaves George Seifert, Mike Shanahan and Tom Coughlin as the only retired coaches with multiple Super Bowl titles not voted into the Hall of Fame. (Bill Belichick also isn’t in but obviously is still active.)
