Three former NFL standouts with ties to San Diego – the late Don Coryell, Terrell Davis and John Lynch Jr. – are among the 15 “modern era” finalists for election this year into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Coryell, Davis and Lynch are all repeat finalists.

Up to five of the 15 will be elected for induction. Inductees will be announced Feb. 6 on the CBS show “NFL Honors” from 6-8 p.m. Pacific.

Coryell is in his 29th year of eligibility for election. A first-time finalist in 2010, he’s made the finalist stage each of the past two years.


Hall of Fame coaches such as Tom Landry and John Madden have said Coryell, who coached the Chargers from 1978-86, deserves induction for innovations that improved the NFL game both on offense and defense.

Under Coryell, the Chargers developed new explosive offenses that led the NFL in passing six straight seasons. His Chargers won AFC titles from 1979-81.

Davis, a San Diego native and alum of Lincoln High, was a pounding running back who powered the Denver Broncos to the only two Super Bowl victories in the franchise’s seven appearances. He set an NFL playoff record with seven straight 100-yard performances spanning the 1997-98 postseasons.

Now 43, Davis is in his 10th year of eligibility. The past two years have brought him to the finalist round.


Lynch went from Del Mar’s Torrey Pines High to Stanford and on to an NFL career that saw him make nine Pro Bowl as a safety and win a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Bucs. Lynch, 44, is in his fourth year of eligibility and a finalist three years in a row.

A panel of 46 voters reduced the field of 108 nominees to 25 semifinalists before deciding the 15 finalists.