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Cliff Branch and Dick Vermeil were selected as finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2022, long overdue for one of the best wide receivers of the 1970s and a Super Bowl winning coach. Branch was selected as the Senior Finalist and Vermeil the Coach Finalist, selected by the Senior Committee and Coach Committee, respectively. 

Branch was one of the greatest wide receivers of his era, despite being overshadowed by Pro Football Hall of Famers Fred Biletnikoff and Dave Casper. One of the best deep ball threats in the 1970s, Branch earned four consecutive Pro Bowl selections and three straight First Team All-Pro honors in the middle of the decade. He led the NFL in receiving yards once (1974), receiving touchdowns twice (1974, 1976), and receiving yards per game twice (1974, 1976) -- winning three Super Bowl titles with the Raiders. 

Branch caught 501 passes for 8,685 yards (17.3 yards per catch) and 67 touchdowns in 14 seasons with the Raiders, but his legacy came in the postseason. Branch had 73 catches for 1,289 yards in 22 postseason games, all records until Jerry Rice broke them. He has 14 catches for 181 yards and three touchdowns in Super Bowls and is one of just six players to have three receiving touchdowns in the Super Bowl. Branch is still fourth in NFL history in postseason receiving yards and third in yards per catch (17.66) amongst receivers with at least 50 receptions in the playoffs. 

"He dreamed of this. He wanted this so bad, he could taste it," Cliff's sister, Elaine Anderson, said on Tuesday afternoon, via the Pro Football Hall of Fame in a press release. "It was all he talked about – when he would go to the Hall of Fame."

Vermeil was known for rebuilding teams, which he did with the Eagles in the late 1970s. In Vermeil's fifth season, the Eagles won their first conference title in 20 years and reached Super Bowl XV in 1980. After seven years with Philadelphia, Vermeil was burned out and took a 15-year hiatus from coaching. 

Vermeil returned to the sidelines with the Rams in 1997, winning just four games in his second season before orchestrating "The Greatest Show on Turf" and leading St. Louis to a 13-3 record and a victory in Super Bowl XXXIV. Vermeil retired again, only to return and coach five more seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. He finished with a 120-108 record in 15 seasons, going 1-1 in Super Bowls. 

Vermeil is just one of seven head coaches in NFL history to take two different franchises to Super Bowls. He finished with six 10-win seasons, three division titles (all with different teams), and a 6-5 playoff record. Vermeil's 1999 Rams team has five players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

"I am overwhelmed. I'm not sure I belong there," Vermeil said. He also said that the Coach Committee had his "deepest appreciation and gratitude."

To be elected in 2022, Branch and Vermeil must receive 80% of the voting support by the selection committee when it meets early next year. The selection committee will consider 18 finalists: the senior (Branch), the coach (Vermeil), a contributor (to be named on Aug. 31) and 15 modern-era finalists. 

All coach finalists have been voted in since the committee started in 2019. Senior finalists have been been voted in every season since 2012.