Devin Hester missed out on his chance to enter the Hall of Fame this year, but two more Bears will have a shot in 2024. The Hall of Fame announced on Wednesday that star defensive tackle Steve McMichael and longtime owner Virginia McCaskey are both semifinalists to be inducted into the Hall of Fame next year as part of the senior, coach/contributor categories.
McCaskey is often considered the matriarch of the NFL, as the daughter of George Halas who founded both the Bears and the league over 100 years ago. When Halas died in 1983, McCaskey became the principal owner of the team. She is the longest tenured owner in the league, yet she’s left the responsibilities of running the team to her family. Regardless of her hands-off approach, Virginia remains the face of the Halas-McCaskey family, and is venerated as an owner of the NFL’s charter franchise. She turned 100 years old earlier this year.
McMichael played 13 of his 15 seasons for the Bears and was a key cog in the 1985 Super Bowl champion defense. He was a two-time First-Team All-Pro, two-time Second-Team All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowler. McMichael led the defense with 11.5 sacks in 1988, beating out both Richard Dent and Dan Hampton. His 92.5 career sacks with the Bears rank second in franchise history, behind only Dent’s 124.5 sacks.
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The senior and coach/contributor committees for the Hall of Fame were put in place to ensure players whose careers ended at least 25 years ago, coaches who have been out of the game for at least five years, and others who have left an impact on the game continue to be considered for Canton. Just like the modern-era ballots, the list of semi-finalists will be reduced to a list of finalists. Then those finalists need to receive at least 80% of a vote to be elected.