Warner, Pace among football hall finalists

The 15 modern-era Hall of Fame Finalists were announced Thursday night.

Former Southern Miss and Hancock North Central High quarterback Brett Favre, who spent most of his 20-year NFL career with the Green Bay Packers, has been named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016.

Andersen, Coryell, Davis and Lynch made the final 15 a year ago, while Atwater, James and Jacoby made the finals for the first time. He led the team in rushing all three seasons.

Davis, the Broncos’ all-time leading rusher with 7,607 yards and 60 touchdowns, had been selected as a finalist once and a semifinalist nine times before.

The selection committee will meet in San Francisco on the eve of Super Bowl 50 next month to elect the Class of 2016.

The 15 modern finalists join three others who will be considered for the 2016 class and who were previously announced: contributor Edward DeBartolo Jr., and senior finalists Ken Stabler and Dick Stanfel.

A Pro Bowl selection in each season as a Bronco, Lynch also was the 2006 Bart Starr Award victor and Byron “Whizzer” White Award victor for his off-the-field contributions. He caught a pass in every single game he ever played in and still holds the National Football League record for most receptions in a season with 143.

Two coaches, Don Coryell and Tony Dungy, were named finalists for the third time. In his career, James rushed for 12,246 yards (11th most all-time) and 80 touchdowns (19th most all-time), averaging four yards per rush.

This will be the fifth straight year that Greene has been a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Pace was a dominant tackle for the Rams for 10 seasons, winning one Super Bowl. Linebacker Karl Mecklenburg was one of 25 finalists. Pace made five All-Pro teams and blocked for Kurt Warner as the Saint Louis Rams won the 1999 Super Bowl. He has a career 139-69 record and is the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl.