Richard Seymour, Mike Vrabel or Bill Parcells will secure a spot in the New England Patriots Hall of Fame later this year.
Seymour, Vrabel and Parcells were announced Tuesday as the Patriots’ 2020 Hall of Fame finalists. A fan vote will determine which of the three is inducted.
Bill Parcells, @BigSey93 and @CoachVrabel50 are your 2020 @Patriots Hall of Fame finalists!#TheHall: https://t.co/4qUfAmQGW5
— The Hall presented by Raytheon (@TheHall) April 21, 2020
Seymour and Vrabel were key defensive players on New England’s first three Super Bowl championship teams, and both have narrowly missed out on Patriots Hall of Fame enshrinement in recent years. This is Vrabel’s fifth consecutive year as a finalist; Seymour has been a finalist in each of the last four years and also was a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019 and 2020, falling short both times.
Parcells, the Patriots’ head coach from 1993 to 1996, is the most polarizing name on the final ballot. His leadership helped revive one of the NFL’s least successful franchises, but he remains a controversial figure among Patriots fans over his decision to leave the team after Super Bowl XXXI to join the rival New York Jets.
This is Parcells’ fourth year as a Patriots Hall of Fame finalist but his first since 2014.
Other players considered by the team’s Hall of Fame committee included wide receiver Wes Welker and guard Logan Mankins, both of whom were in their first year of eligibility.
Safety Rodney Harrison was the team’s 2019 Hall inductee.
