GRIN AND BEAR IT: Former Giants defensive end Michael Strahan, smiling after announcing his retirement in 2008, is up for nomination today for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. (
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NEW ORLEANS — Canton could get a little bit bluer today if the Giants come up big when the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2013 is announced. Michael Strahan is up for selection for the first time and Bill Parcells gets his second shot at enshrinement alongside the immortals of the sport.
There does not seem to be any way the hallowed halls won’t include Strahan, a prototype defensive end adept in both pass rushing and stopping the run during his 15 years starring for the Big Blue defense. Parcells was a finalist a year ago and his resumé is not only burgeoning as the head coach of the Giants’ first two Super Bowl championships but for the turnarounds he oversaw with the Patriots, Jets and Cowboys.
“When you think about the history and the number of players and coaches and whatnot we already have in the Hall of Fame, having two more would be … it would be something we’d very proud of, no question about it,’’ Giants co-owner John Mara said.
Strahan and Parcells are among 15 modern-era finalists to be considered when the Hall’s selection committee meets and votes today. Strahan, offensive linemen Larry Allen and Jonathan Ogden and defensive tackle Warren Sapp are the first-year eligible nominees.
Also up for consideration: receivers Tim Brown, Cris Carter and Andre Reed, running back Jerome Bettis, linebacker Kevin Greene, defensive end Charles Haley, guard Will Shields, cornerback Aneas Williams and owners Edward DeBartolo, Jr. and Art Modell. Defensive tackle Curley Culp and linebacker Dave Robinson are senior committee nominees.
Strahan, whose last game was a victory in Super Bowl XLII, has a very strong chance to make it in his first year of eligibility.
“He better get in or there’s going to be some furniture moving,’’ said Osi Umenyiora, who considers Strahan a mentor. “To this day I’ve never seen a guy play the way he played. He was literally beating offensive linemen up. It was truly amazing to see. He’s the greatest defensive end I’ve ever seen play, no question.’’
Strahan spent his entire career with the Giants and finished with 1411/2 sacks. He led the NFL in sacks in 221/2 (a single-season record) in 2001 and again in 2003 with 181/2 sacks. In 2001, he was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year. In an age when many sack artists were one-trick pony players, Strahan also excelled in his assignments stopping the run.
“When I think of Michael, I think of the combination of athletic skills, endurance, strength, the ability to play the game at a very high level for a very long time,’’ said Tom Coughlin, who coached Strahan in his last three seasons. “Plus he’s intelligent and he provided a player that young people could look at for how they study and prepare, how they practiced full-speed and then how they played the game.”
If Strahan’s name is not called, “It will be a black, gloomy day for the NFL,’’ Justin Tuck said. “I don’t see how he’s not a shoo-in for a first ballot Hall of Famer.’’
Parcells is credited with reversing the fortunes of four NFL franchises, starting with the Giants from 1983-1990 and winning his two Super Bowls. He also took the Patriots to the Super Bowl and was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year in 1986 and again in 1994. His regular season record was 172-130-1 and he was 11-8 in the postseason. He took over a 1-15 Jets team in 1997 and went 9-7 and 12-4 the next two seasons, the best two-year turnaround of a 1-15 team in league history.
“Bill Parcells is a great football coach,” said Coughlin, who served as Parcells’ receivers coach for three years with the Giants. “He has tremendous instincts. He has the ability to say the right thing at the right time, always did. He was a guy who set a very, very high standard and then held players to it.”
paul.schwartz@nypost.com