With the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 coming up, Kyle Shanahan’s dad could be on his way to Canton. Although he is one of the nine semifinalists for the coveted title, it’s still undecided. Today, the Hall of Fame’s Coach Blue-Ribbon committee, headed by nine members, will decide whether he enters this year’s class or not.

But that’s not where it all ends. This subcommittee will then send their pick to the final 50-person HOF voting committee just before the Super Bowl LIX. So, the final candidate will only be announced next month. However, Christian McCaffrey’s dad, Ed McCaffrey, is already rooting for his former coach Mike Shanahan with his latest Instagram story. Reposting current Broncos head coach Sean Payton’s take on Mike Shanahan’s candidacy, Ed wrote, “It’s time, it’s time already. Do the right thing, @profootballhof voters”

His urgent plea to Pro Football Hall of Fame voters is quite reasonable, considering the legacy Mike left on the gridiron. Out of the 12 coaches who were eligible for the Hall of Fame with multiple Super Bowl titles. Nine have already found themselves inducted. The only ones who remain are Shanahan, Coughlin and Seifert (nominated in the final nine).

And among the three, Shanahan holds an edge in his regular season record with 170-138. While Coughlin is just behind with 170-150 and Seifert with 114-62. Well, his regular season record is not the only criterion that Shanahan’s dad will bank upon. Nicknamed ‘The Mastermind’ in the 90s, Shanahan’s team never ranked lower than the top 5 in rushing.

Even for points scored, his team stayed within the top 9 16 times, which is a record in itself. He is also one of the seven coaches to ever win the Super Bowl consecutively. Both came with the Broncos, where he spent four seasons as OC and then 14 as their head coach. His Broncos team was a menace during his first three years at the helm. They had a winning percentage of .821 with an NFL record 46 victories. Well, those two Super Bowl titles also came during that golden period in Denver.

However, Shanahan’s former player isn’t the only one rooting for his golden ticket to Canton. As Broncos head coach Sean Payton had strong words on Mike Shanahan’s legacy that still runs to this day.

Sean Payton leading Mike Shanahan’s HOF campaign

Although Sean Payton is just getting started with the Broncos, he is all too familiar with winning the Super Bowl as a head coach. Helping the Saints win their first Super Bowl in their history, Payton has already left a mark in New Orleans. But now he wants Broncos coaching legend Mike Shanahan to finally get his flowers with HOF induction, “He’s been behind the minds of so many coaches working right. I would say a third of the league at one point has been impacted by Mike. And not only the coaching tree, I’m talking about the offensive tree. When I got into the league, there were two or three teams that you studied, and Denver was one of them.”

Well, Payton, who started his coaching journey as a QB coach in Philly has slowly risen through the ranks. And he isn’t the only one who has followed Mike’s coaching principles. Gary Kubiak and Sean McVay, who were once Mike’s assistants, have won Super Bowl themselves with the Broncos and Rams, respectively. Even his son, Kyle Shanahan, has led the Niners to two Super Bowls. Although he has yet to win one because of the Chiefs’ dominance in recent years.

Kyle Shanahan, like his dad, would surely lift the Lombardi in the coming seasons. But for now, it remains to be seen whether his father makes it to the final round before the results on Dec 10th or 11th. Seeing other coaches in his bracket, he sure does have a golden opportunity to make it through today’s voting.