Tony Dungy takes thankless job as Hall of Fame selector

Thanks to social media, it didn't take long for Tony Dungy, Pro Football Hall of Famer, to learn what it feels like to be Tony Dungy, Pro Football Hall of Fame selector.

"Oh, my goodness," he said. "The Hall announced it [Aug. 27] and I've already heard from so many people.

" 'Hey, you know how great Cliff Branch was. You got to get him in!' Or, 'You got to get this guy in!' Or, 'Can you believe so and so is not in! You got to do something about this!' "

Welcome to our world, Tony.

The Hall of Fame has 48 selectors — including this reporter — who often double as social media punching bags when very good players don't clear that final hurdle into the shrine in Canton, Ohio. Or when they're forced to wait three years. Right, T.O.?

"It's going to be fun," said Dungy, an analyst for NBC's "Sunday Night Football" who joins Dan Fouts, James Lofton and Bill Polian as Hall of Famers who are at-large selectors. "But I can't even imagine how you guys make the [modern-era player] cuts from 15 to 10 to five [before voting yes or no on each of the final five]. I look forward to seeing the process."

And the committee looks forward to hearing Dungy's wealth of knowledge and experience.

Dungy, 64, played quarterback at the University of Minnesota. He went undrafted in 1977 and won a Super Bowl ring playing safety for the Steelers.

He was a longtime NFL assistant, a standout defensive coordinator with the Vikings from 1992-95, a head coach for 13 years and the first Black head coach to win a Super Bowl.

So, Tony, now that you're on board, how will you handle it when it's time to trim your ballot from 10 to five and you're stuck choosing between one of your beloved former players and someone else your football mind thinks is more deserving?

"That will be hard, very hard," he said. "It's almost like being a coach and cutting down the team to the final 53. I have to do what I think is the right thing for the team."

Dungy is on Twitter. So he's well aware of how some people tend to act toward others who don't give them their way.

"You just have to say, 'You know what, in my experience, this is what I think' and I'm one of 48 voters," Dungy said. "My opinion is through my eyes. Not everyone is going to understand that. I guess it just goes with the territory."

MARK CRAIG