Two players who were recently named to the Cowboys Ring of Honor, now have a good chance to make it to the next level – the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
For one, it'll be his first time with the opportunity while the other is hoping the third time is the charm.
Larry Allen is one of six first-year eligible candidates for the Hall of Fame, which trimmed its list down to 27 semifinalists on Friday.
Also included is Charles Haley, who was a finalist last year but didn't make the induction. The same goes for Bill Parcells, a former Cowboys head coach who also was denied induction despite being a finalist.
The list of candidates has been cut down from 127 preliminary nominees. Usually, it's only 25 semifinalists but a three-way tie for the last spot created two more names.
Along with Allen, who made 10 Pro Bowls during his career with the Cowboys, other first-year eligible candidates include Warren Sapp, Morten Andersen, John Lynch, Michael Strahan and Jonathan Ogden. The only other semifinalist who made it for the first time was Chiefs cornerback Albert Lewis.
Haley and Parcells have both been close before and both have been contributors for other teams. Haley spent seven years with the 49ers while Parcells lead the Giants to two Super Bowl titles and took the Patriots to the Super Bowl once and the Jets to the AFC Championship Game.
As for Allen, he played the majority of his career in Dallas from 1994-2005. He finished up in San Francisco, where he did make another Pro Bowl. He was truly one of the more dominating linemen in the NFL history, and made All-Pro at both guard and tackle.
The Cowboys currently have just one former offensive lineman in the Hall of Fame in Rayfield Wright.
Here's an alphabetical list of all 27 semifinalists for this year's Hall of Fame, which will be reduced to 15 in mid-January and then voted in the days prior to Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans:
- Larry Allen, G/T –**1994-2005 Dallas Cowboys, 2006-07 San Francisco 49ers
- Morten Andersen, K –* *1982-1994 New Orleans Saints, 1995-2000, 2006-07 Atlanta Falcons, 2001 New York Giants, 2002-03 Kansas City Chiefs, 2004 Minnesota Vikings
- Steve Atwater, S – 1989-1998 Denver Broncos, 1999 New York Jets
- Jerome Bettis, RB – 1993-95 Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams, 1996-2005 Pittsburgh Steelers
- Tim Brown, WR/KR – 1988-2003 Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, 2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Cris Carter,* *WR – 1987-89 Philadelphia Eagles, 1990-2001 Minnesota Vikings, 2002 Miami Dolphins
- Don Coryell, Coach – 1973-77 St. Louis Cardinals, 1978-1986 San Diego Chargers
- Roger Craig, RB – 1983-1990 San Francisco 49ers, 1991 Los Angeles Raiders, 1992-93 Minnesota Vikings
- Terrell Davis, RB – 1995-2001 Denver Broncos
- Edward DeBartolo, Jr., Owner – 1977-2000 San Francisco 49ers
- Kevin Greene, LB/DE – 1985-1992 Los Angeles Rams, 1993-95 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1996, 1998-99 Carolina Panthers, 1997 San Francisco 49ers
- Charles Haley,* *DE/LB – 1986-1991, 1999 San Francisco 49ers, 1992-96 Dallas Cowboys
- Joe Jacoby, T –* *1981-1993 Washington Redskins
- Albert Lewis, CB –* *1983-1993 Kansas City Chiefs, 1994-98 Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders
- John Lynch, FS –* *1993-2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2004-07 Denver Broncos
- Karl Mecklenburg, LB – 1983-1994 Denver Broncos
- Art Modell, Owner – 1961-1995 Cleveland Browns, 1996-2011 Baltimore Ravens
- Jonathan Ogden, T – 1996-2007 Baltimore Ravens
- Bill Parcells, Coach – 1983-1990 New York Giants, 1993-96 New England Patriots, 1997-99 New York Jets, 2003-06 Dallas Cowboys
- Andre Reed, WR – 1985-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000 Washington Redskins
- Warren Sapp, DT –* *1995-2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2004-07 Oakland Raiders
- Will Shields, G – 1993-2006 Kansas City Chiefs
- Michael Strahan, DE –* *1993-2007 New York Giants
- Paul Tagliabue,* *Commissioner – 1989-2006 National Football League
- Steve Tasker, ST/WR – 1985-86 Houston Oilers, 1986-1997 Buffalo Bills
- Aeneas Williams, CB/S – 1991-2000 Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, 2001-04 St. Louis Rams* *
- George Young, Contributor – 1968-1974 Baltimore Colts, 1975-78 Miami Dolphins, 1979-1997 New York Giants, 1998-2001 National Football League
