Apr 14, 2023 4 min read

Dick Vermeil is right. There aren’t enough coaches in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Vermeil made that point during his Hall of Fame induction speech last August and repeated it this past week in an interview with the Denver Gazette.

Vermeil specifically mentioned seven former NFL coaches he believes should be inducted. Included in that group was McDonald native Marty Schottenheimer.

Why Schottenheimer and his 200 career victories isn’t already in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is one of life’s great mysteries.

There have been 518 head coaches in NFL history. Only six have more career wins than Schottenheimer.

Yes, he never won a championship. But neither did Marv Levy. Or Bud Grant. Or Don Coryell, who was just voted into the Hall of Fame this year.

Of the 518 head coaches who have worked in the NFL, only 28 are enshrined. That’s .05 percent.

That’s too few.

The Hall of Fame is working to take care of that backlog. It’s a shame Schottenheimer is no longer with us to someday get his due.

But it’s an honor of which he is very deserving.

n We’re now less than two weeks out from the NFL Draft. Good thing, too, because the Penguins laid a great big egg Tuesday night in a must-win game at home against the NHL’s worst team.

That listless 5-2 loss by the Penguins to the Chicago Blackhawks was especially disappointing given the fact one of the teams ahead of them in the Eastern Conference standings, the New York Islanders, had lost on Monday. That opened the door for the Penguins to reach the playoffs – if they won their final two games.

It was among the more disappointing losses by a Pittsburgh team in recent history.

This Penguins team likely wasn’t going anywhere. After all, the Penguins were trying to sneak into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed – or No. 7, at best.

But stranger things have happened when it comes to teams squeaking into the playoffs and then making a run.

You can’t do that, however, unless you actually get in. And the Penguins did not.

n There was anger among Pirates fans on social media regarding the fractured fibula suffered by Oneil Cruz, most of it aimed at Chicago White Sox catcher Seby Zavala.

Here’s the thing, though. Zavala didn’t do anything wrong in regard to the injury suffered by Cruz.

Yes, he said something after the (sort of) slide by Cruz into his legs. He likely felt the late attempt at a slide by Cruz endangered him.

But he also didn’t know Cruz had a broken leg in the immediate aftermath. That wasn’t apparent until after a few seconds. Zavala’s reaction was immediate.

It stinks for Cruz, who is one of the building blocks for the Pirates and one of the game’s most exciting young players. To think that he’ll be out for most of this season robs the game of a young star. And let’s face it, the Pirates can’t exactly afford to be without any of their rising young players.

That being said, the same night the Penguins were laying a massive egg against the Blackhawks, the Pirates pulled off a ninth-inning walk-off win over the defending World Series champion Astros.

n A hot rumor surfaced on social media that the Steelers have contacted the Chicago Bears regarding a trade up to the ninth pick in the draft.

That’s not really news. The Steelers have and will continue to contact every team in the draft to at least inquire whether they would be interested in moving up or down in the draft. It’s what they do every year.

After all, how else are you supposed to know who is interested in making a move unless you pick up the phone and ask.

But that doesn’t mean anything will come of it.

Again, it’s something they do every year.

n At the Masters last weekend, players who are competing on the PGA-rival LIV Tour were largely ignored, even Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka, who finished tied for second.

Because they were at the top of the leaderboard, they couldn’t be completely ignored, but when a big-time draw such as Mickelson is atop the leaderboard, it’s usually newsworthy.

The PGA obviously leaned on its TV partners to not play up the LIV golfers.

There are lawsuits pending over player contracts and antitrust issues that could be settled sometime later this summer. Maybe.

But there are LIV golfers expected to play in the PGA Championship May 18-21. We’ll see if the coverage of their efforts changes.