Raiders' Tom Flores only coach named as senior nominee for Hall of Fame's 2021 induction class

Flores led the Raiders to two Super Bowl wins in the early 1980s

Tom Flores, who guided the Raiders to a pair of Super Bowl wins during the 1980s, is the only former coach who has been named as a senior nominee for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021. Drew Pearson, an All-Decade receiver for the Cowboys during the 1970s and into the '80s, is also a senior committee nominee. 

A member of the Raiders' inaugural team, Flores played quarterback for the Raiders from 1960-66, earning Pro Bowl honors in 1966. He immediately got into coaching following his 10-year playing career, starting as the Bills' quarterbacks coach in 1971. After just one season in Buffalo, Flores joined John Madden's staff in Oakland. He was the Raiders' receivers coach when they captured their first Super Bowl win at the end of the 1976 season. One of his receivers, Fred Biletnikoff, took home MVP honors following Oakland's 32-14 win over Minnesota in Super Bowl XI. 

"You can't blame me for not being a little guarded, but I think this is about as close as you can get without being in so I am excited about it," Flores said, via Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area. "But, until I get that gold jacket, I'm going to wait to celebrate."

Flores was promoted to head coach following Madden's retirement after the 1978 season. In 1980, the Raiders became the first wild-card team to win the Super Bowl after dispatching the favored Eagles in Super Bowl XV. Three years later, Flores led the Raiders to another Super Bowl upset, as Los Angeles shocked Washington (the defending champion) in Super Bowl XVIII, 38-9. Flores' 1983 team would be the last AFC team to win the Super Bowl until 1997, when Denver upset the defending champion Packers in Super Bowl XXXII. 

Flores, the first Latino quarterback in NFL history, got the most out of quarterback Jim Plunkett, the first Latino player to win the Heisman Trophy and, to this day, the only Latino player selected No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft. After failing to live up to expectations in New England, Plunkett thrived with the Raiders after taking over as the team's starting quarterback in 1980. During their first four seasons together, the duo helped lead the Raiders to two Super Bowl victories. Plunkett earned MVP honors in Super Bowl XV, throwing for 261 yards and three touchdowns in Oakland's 27-10 win over the Eagles. Plunkett became the first Latino player to win Super Bowl MVP, while Flores became the first Latino coach to win the Super Bowl. 

"As you look back, I think we're both proud of the fact that we came from, at that time, a minority group of people, who could take a lot of pride of what we accomplished," Plunkett said during an interview with NFL Films. "We're proud of the fact that we are Mexican American, where we came from, what we accomplished. And people can look up to that and strive to achieve for success in their own right, and that's all good." 

Flores would be the second coach in Raiders history to receive a gold jacket. Madden, who posted a whopping .759 winning percentage during his decade in Oakland, was inducted in 2006. Flores also coached the Seahawks for three seasons (1992-94).