Rod Woodson Claims NFL Teams are Hesitant to Hire Hall of Famers
Hall of Famer and former Steeler Rod Woodson has a theory for why he hasn’t been hired as part of an NFL staff. And no, he’s not making any claims that his race is playing a factor. Instead, Woodson told TMZ that his status as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame is actually viewed as a negative.
“I think it’ll be more difficult for Hall of Famers to get in it and stay in it,” Woodson said in a video posted by TMZ, “just for the fact that most of the coaches don’t like that respect leaving that room or that area and going to somewhere else.”
Woodson, who is widely regarded as one of the best defensive backs ever, most notably for his time with the Steelers from 1987 to 1996, admits he’s been angling for a job as an assistant for years. The 55-year-old also proclaimed to TMZ that he’s willing to work all day long if that’s what it takes to be a coach on an NFL staff.
To support his theory, Woodson cited former member of Mike Tomlin’s staff and current Denver Broncos offensive-line coach Mike Munchak as the only Hall of Famer he can think of working as an active NFL assistant coach.
When asked about the 2020 Hall of Fame ceremony being canceled, Woodson made it clear he’s crushed for this year’s class, who will have to wait until next year to be officially inducted along with the 2021 group.
Rod Woodson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009. Woodson’s body of work stacks up with other legends at his position. He accumulated 1,158 overall tackles, 530 credited as solo tackles, 71 interceptions, 32 fumble recoveries (15 offensive and 17 defensive), 4,894 kickoff return yards, 2,362 punt return yards, and 17 touchdowns (12 interception returns, 1 fumble return, 2 kickoff returns, 2 punt returns) throughout his 17-year playing career with the Steelers, Ravens and Raiders. Woodson was a member of Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl XXX team and won Super Bowl XXXV with Baltimore.
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