NFL Notes: Hall candidates led by Shula, 3 Steelers

Friday, Jan. 10, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

SUN WIRE REPORTS

Three members of the Pittsburgh Steelers' Super Bowl-winning teams and Don Shula, who coached two Super Bowl champions, head the list of 15 candidates for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Center Mike Webster and wide receivers John Stallworth and Lynn Swann, mainstays of the Steelers' championship teams, were among the candidates announced Thursday.

Shula, who won more NFL games than any other coach, was the only one to qualify in his first year of eligibility. With 347 career victories, Shula coached the Miami Dolphins to Super Bowl titles in 1972 and 1973. One of his players with the Dolphins, center Dwight Stephenson, also is a finalist.

Also on the list are defensive ends Carl Eller and Jack Youngblood, punter Ray Guy, cornerback Mike Haynes, safety Paul Krause, guard Tom Mack, tight end Ozzie Newsome, tackle Ron Yary, seniors nominee Jerry Kramer and New York Giants president Wellington Mara.

A 36-member board of selectors will meet in New Orleans Jan. 25, the day before the Super Bowl, to elect the class of 1997.

* ROSS UNDECIDED: Bobby Ross returned to San Diego to ponder his coaching future, clearly the favorite of the Atlanta Falcons but unsure if he'll take the job. Ross, 60, who also interviewed for coaching vacancies in Detroit and St. Louis, is trying to decide if he wants to return to Atlanta, where he coached Georgia Tech from 1987-91. "There are some issues that still need sorting out there, but Atlanta is a great opportunity and my family is very fond of the city," Ross said Thursday after meeting the previous night with Falcons president Taylor Smith.

* RAMS CONSIDER THREE: The list of candidates for the St. Louis Rams' coaching vacancy is down to three -- at least for now. President John Shaw met for 3 1/2 hours this week with Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Emmitt Thomas. He previously interviewed San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Pete Carroll and former San Diego Chargers coach Bobby Ross for the opening. "I don't have anything else scheduled," Shaw said on Thursday by telephone from Los Angeles, where he is spending much of the offseason. "I consider them our top three and I'm going to digest it, look at some proposals and decide whether we're going to interview anybody else."