ATLANTA – Former Raiders coach Tom Flores and 49ers general manager John Lynch on Saturday fell short of the required votes to be elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The 48 voters selected the Class of 2019, which included first-ballot inductees tight end Tony Gonzalez, safety Ed Reed and cornerback Champ Bailey. Cornerback Ty Law and center Kevin Mawae were also voted into the Hall of Fame on the modern-era ballot.
Seniors nominee Johnny Robinson, and contributors Pat Bowlen and Gil Brandt round out the eight-person Hall of Fame class. Those eight individuals will be enshrined in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 3.
Gonzalez, who played football and basketball at Cal, is considered one of the top tight ends in NFL history. A 14-time Pro Bowl selection, Gonzalez played 17 NFL seasons with Kansas City and Atlanta. He ranks No. 2 all time behind Jerry Rice with 1,325 receptions. He ranks sixth in receiving yards (15,127) and eighth in receiving touchdowns (111).
Neither Lynch nor Flores advanced Saturday from the 15 finalists into the top 10. A maximum of five modern-era candidates can be elected into the Hall of Fame in any given year.
Flores, a two-time Super Bowl-winning coach, was a first-time finalist in his 24th year of eligibility. He was 83-53 in his nine seasons as Raiders head coach.
Lynch was a finalist for the Hall of Fame for the sixth time. Of the 22 finalists who have been a finalist six times, Lynch is the only one of those individuals who has not been inducted into the Hall of Fame. He appeared in nine Pro Bowls during his career with Tampa Bay and Denver.
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The selectors met for nearly eight hours on Saturday at the Georgia World Conference Center on the eve of Super Bowl LIII, to discuss the merits of each of the 18 finalists. The conversation lasted 18:54 for Flores, while Lynch's discussion went for 12:39.
Reed, a nine-time Pro Bowl performer with Baltimore, ranks No. 1 all time with 1,590 interception return yards. Bailey was elected to 12 Pro Bowls in his 15-year career with Washington and the Denver Broncos. Law, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, is the first player from the New England Patriots dynasty to be elected into the Hall of Fame. Mawae was an eight-time Pro Bowl player with the Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans.
Robinson recorded 57 interceptions in his 12-year career with the Dallas Texans and Kansas City of the AFL. Bowlen won three Super Bowls as Broncos owner, and Brandt was instrumental to the Dallas Cowboys' success as a scout.
The longest discussion of the modern-era candidates was for Law (27:16), followed by offensive tackle Tony Boselli (26:10), Mawae (24:52) and coach Don Coryell (22:37). The shortest discussion was for Reed (2:20).
Defensive lineman Richard Seymour and wide receiver Isaac Bruce, who finished their careers with the Raiders and 49ers, respectively, did not make the cut from the 15 finalists into the final 10.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area is on the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors.
