The NFL is revealing the 100 greatest players and 10 greatest coaches in NFL history. Every Friday night at 8 ET through Dec. 27, NFL Network will announce the latest members of the All-Time Team during a one-hour special hosted by Rich Eisen and featuring Bill Belichick and Cris Collinsworth.
*Below are 10 wide receivers and two of the head coaches on the NFL All-Time Team, as revealed on NFL Network: *
Jerry Rice (1985-2004)
2010 Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee... Selected by 49ers in 1st round (16th overall pick) of 1985 draft... NFL career leader in receptions (1,549), receiving yards (22,895), rec TD (197)... Set then-NFL mark with 22 rec TD in 12 games, 1987... One of 3 players to score 5 rec TD in a game... 14 career 1,000-yard seasons, 76 games with 100+ yards (both NFL records)... 3-time Super Bowl winner with 49ers... Super Bowl XXIII MVP (11 rec, 215 yards, TD). 13 Pro Bowls, 10-time 1st-team All-Pro (both NFL records by WR)... Named to NFL All-Decade Team for 1980s & 1990s... Member of NFL's 75th Anniversary Team... Born October 13, 1962, in Starkville, Mississippi.
Cris Collinsworth: We've talked about the greatest runner in the history of the game, in Emmitt (Smith), who holds all the records. The greatest receiver now with Jerry, and yet, neither one of those guys would you say is that freakish athlete. It's one of the things that I always loved about the game of football -- is there something else there? This is about something inside your mind, in your heart and your soul. You ever try to explain that to somebody the difference in what an athlete is and what a football player is?
Belichick: We talk about kind of the dictionary, and we put a football player up there and there's a picture of guy, it's not the fastest, it's not the tallest, it's not biggest bench press, it's football player -- and that's where Jerry Rice is.
Rice: The thing for me was fear of failure. That was my motivating factor. I never wanted to let the fans down in Mississippi, the fans in San Francisco. I think the first ten years, basically, I didn't take a vacation.
Collinsworth: Most of the opponents would use the same word "fear" when talking about Jerry Rice.
Raymond Berry (1955-1967)
1973 Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee... Selected by Colts in 20th round of 1954 draft... Formed iconic QB-WR combo with HOF Johnny Unitas... Retired as NFL's all-time leader in receptions (631), receiving yards (9,275)... One of 6 WR to win receiving Triple Crown outright, leading NFL in receptions (66), rec yards (959), & rec TD (14), 1959... Set then-NFL title game mark with 12 rec, 178 yards in Colts' OT win vs Giants, 1958... Made 6 Pro Bowls in 7-season span from 1958-1964 seasons... 3-time 1st-team All-Pro, 1958-1960... Member of 75th Anniversary All-Time Team... Named to NFL's All-Decade Team for 1950s... Born February 27, 1933, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Belichick: Of course he had a great quarterback in (Johnny) Unitas and that was an excellent combination. ... Just so confident on the sideline, that Unitas knew that if he could just get the ball over the defender, Berry would catch it and come down in bounds. Unitas had tremendous confidence in Berry. As a kid when you played catch, one guy was Raymond Berry and the other guy was Johnny Unitas.
Collinsworth: He had the "toe drag swag" before anyone knew what it was.
Don Hutson (1935-1945)
1963 Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee... Awarded to Packers after also signing with Brooklyn... Revolutionized "End" position as NFL's 1st dominant receiver... Also played safety, placekicker... Only player to win receiving Triple Crown more than once, doing so 5 times, 1936, 1941-1944... Won Joe F. Carr Trophy as NFL's MVP twice, 1941-1942... Led league in receptions an NFL-record 8 times... Held 18 major NFL records at retirement... 4 straight Pro Bowls, 1939-1942... 8 1st-team All-Pro selections, T-5th most all-time... Named to NFL All-Decade Team for 1930s... Member of NFL's 75th Anniversary Team... Born January 31, 1913, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
Belichick: A lot of interesting things about Hutson. First of all, he played end at the University of Alabama and "Bear" Bryant was at the other end. Hutson had great hands and he was the first route runner in the National Football League. ... He absolutely changed the wide receiver position. There were no split-out receivers and there were no routes designed for receivers. It was kid of go deep or go over and go out.
Paul Warfield (1964-1977)
Selected by Browns in 1st round (11th overall pick) in 1964 draft... Retired as NFL's all-time leader in receiving TD (85), ranked 5th in receiving yards (8,565)... Mere presence on field forced defensive adjustments... One of 5 WR in NFL history to average 20+ yards per reception (min. 75 games, 200 receptions)... Led NFL in rec TD twice, 1968, 1971... Posted 10+ rec TD 4 times in a season (T-11th most in NFL history)... 8 career Pro Bowls, T-4th in NFL history among WR... 2-time NFL All-Pro, 1971, 1973... Named to NFL All-Decade Team for 1970s... Born November 28, 1942, in Warren, Ohio.
Collinsworth: I think one of the most underrated wide receivers in the history of the game, for my money. You'll never see the numbers because they didn't throw the ball at the time the way they do in the game today, but the routes and the ability to get in and out of cuts was just so effective. One of the great receivers of all-time.
Lance Alworth (1962-1972)
1978 Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee... Selected by Raiders in 2nd round (9th overall pick) in 1962 AFL Draft; traded to Chargers... 1st AFL player to make Hall of Fame... Nicknamed "Bambi" for smooth, spectacular moves... 1st WR ever with 7 straight 1,000-yard seasons, 1963-1969... Won AFL title with Chargers, 1963, Super Bowl VI with Cowboys, 1971 season. AFL receiving yards leader 3 times, 1965-1966, 1968... 7 straight Pro Bowls, 1963-1969 seasons... 6 1st-team All-Pro selections (T-2nd most all-time among WR)... Member of 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, AFL's All-Time Team... Born August 3, 1940, in Houston, Texas.
Collinsworth: It's so hard to tell because, we get highlight tapes of this guy and so I was really enjoying watching him but it was kid of hard to tell what kind of routes he was running because he was always so far behind the defense -- all you saw was him running in the end zone! I don't know how fast he was, but I do know this, he has this little tippy-toe style of running the ball into the end zone, thus the nickname "Bambi" -- but he was always behind the defense. I don't know how he did it.
Randy Moss (1998-2012)
2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee... Selected by Vikings in 1st round (21st overall pick) of 1998 draft... 2nd all-time in receiving TD (156), 4th in rec yards (15,292)... NFL Offensive Rookie of Year with NFL-high 17 rec TD, 1998 (10 of 17 rec TD were for 40+ yards, tied NFL single-season record)... Set NFL record with 23 rec TD, 2007... Posted 10+ rec TD 9 times (T-most all-time)... 10-time 1,000-yard receiver, 64 career 100-yard games (both 2nd in NFL history)... 6 Pro Bowls... 4-time 1st-team All-Pro... Named to NFL All-Decade Team for 2000s... Born February 13, 1977 in Rand, West Virginia.
Belichick: One of the smartest players I've ever coached and certainly the smartest receiver I ever coached. He taught me more about the receiver position and the passing game than any player I've ever coached. ... I never coached anybody like Randy Moss.
One of the things that nobody talks about with Randy that you can't understate is the team has its own chemistry, its own way of coming together, and Randy had an energy that he brought to the team that was just infectious. ... So he came to me in the second year and said, "Hey coach, I think we need a little juice here. What do you think about a Halloween party?" and I said, "Look, if I schedule it, nobody will come." He said, "No, no, no I'll take care of it. I'll do the Halloween party and it'll be great for the team." ... So he set the whole thing up at a roller rink. Linda and I went as pirates. Everybody was dressed up. It was one of the best team-building activities we've ever had.
Rice: I never had a hamstring injury issue (like Moss). You know why? I was never fast like this guy!
Larry Fitzgerald (2004-Present)
Selected by Cardinals in 1st round (3rd overall pick) of 2004 draft... Entered 2019 ranked T-6th among WR in games (234), 2nd among all players in NFL history in receiving yards (16,279), 3rd in receptions (1,303), T-6th in rec TD (116)... Ranks T-3rd all-time in 1,000-yard receiving seasons (9), 100-catch seasons (5)... Owns NFL record for most receptions (30), yards (546), rec TD (7) in single postseason -- set during Cardinals' run to Super Bowl appearance, 2008... 11 Pro Bowls, 2nd-most all-time among WR... 1st-team All-Pro selection, 2008... Walter Payton NFL Co-Man of the Year, 2016... Born August 31, 1983 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Collinsworth: That (2008) playoff run that you had, that was the most remarkable run of football I've ever seen from a wideout. I think the most impressive thing of your career when Bruce Arians came in as your head coach and you had always been the wideout, you'd been the guy outside, and yet you had the Hines Ward role that he wanted you to come inside and block. Your blocking in my mind finalized that you were on this team.
Rice: I think in that Super Bowl I saw you run away from someone and went to the house. And he wasn't one of those fast guys. No 4.25 or anything like that, but he was able to catch the ball and had football speed to get to the end zone.
Steve Largent (1976-1989)
1995 Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee... Selected by Oilers in 4th round of 1976 draft; traded to Seahawks... Retired as NFL's all-time leader in receptions (819), receiving yards (13,089), rec TD (100)... Was 1st NFL player to catch 100 TD passes, one of 10 players ever to do so... Set then-NFL record 177 straight games with at least one reception... Posted 1,000+ receiving yards 8 times (T-7th most in NFL history)... Led NFL in receiving yards twice, 1979, 1985... Made 7 career Pro Bowls (T-8th in NFL history among WR)... 1985 1st-team All-Pro... Named to NFL All-Decade Team for 1980s... Named NFL Man of the Year, 1988. Born September 28, 1954, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Rice: Unbelievable. Not only a great football player but a great individual. I remember when I went to Seattle, he walked up to me and he said, "I want you to wear number 80." It just blew me away and you can't say no to a legend. I took a lot of backlash because of that but he wanted me to wear his jersey. He was just that type of receiver.
Collinsworth: Everything was a different move. You could watch his eyes. He would look back for the ball and get the guy to turn around and then here comes the comeback route. Every single thing was perfection -- probably the closest may've been Raymond Berry back in the day. Wasn't going to wow you with the athleticism, but he was going to get open because he had something creative that he had come up with.
Marvin Harrison (1996-2008)
2016 Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee... Selected by Colts in 1st round (19th overall pick) in 1996 draft... Ranks 5th in NFL history in receptions (1,102), rec TD (128... NFL single-season record 143 catches, 2002... NFL-record streak of 8 straight years with 1,000+ rec yards & 10+ rec TD, 1999-2006... Super Bowl XLI champion with Colts... 4 straight seasons with 100+ receptions from 1999-2002, 2nd-most all-time... 8 straight 1,000-yard seasons, T-3rd longest streak all-time by WR... 8 straight Pro Bowls from 1999-2006 seasons, T-4th in NFL history among WR... 3-time 1st-team All-Pro... Named to NFL's All-Decade Team for 2000s... Born August 25, 1972 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Belichick: It was very difficult to vote for wide receivers in this project, but here's what I said, as a defensive coach and a head coach, if I double covered a guy every single time we played him -- I'm putting him on the list. Double coverage -- we're going to get beat gy someone else. Manning knew it too, if you single covered him, he's going right to him.
Larry Fitzgerald: That 141-catch season he had was unbelievable. He probably caught 40 of them on under routes. You knew it was coming and you just could not stop it. There was no route he could not run.
Elroy Hirsch (1946-1967)
1968 Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee... Selected by Rams in 1st round (5th overall pick) of 1945 draft... Led College All-Stars in upset of Rams, 1946... Joined NFL's Rams in 1949 as key part of revolutionary "3-end" offense. One of 6 WR to win receiving Triple Crown outright, leading NFL in receptions (66), rec yards (1,495, then-NFL record), & rec TD (17), 1951... 10 of his 17 rec TD were for 40+ yards, 1951 (tied for NFL single-season record). 3 straight Pro Bowls, 1951-1953... 2-time 1st-team All-Pro... Named to NFL's All-Decade Team for 1950s... Born June 17, 1923, in Wausau, Wisconsin.
Belichick: First of all, his nickname "Crazy Legs" is pretty easy to see why he's called that. You can see he has pretty good hands handling this punt. The Rams converted him from running back to a wide receiver and as you can see in these clips he's very fast -- nobody is catching him from behind. He had a big year in '51 -- 1,495 yards receiving -- so for only his second, really third year of playing wide receiver. Again, a combination of a lot of deep passes and also some exceptional runs with the ball on shorter catch-and-run plays.
Coaches
Don Shula (1963-1995)
1997 Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee... Winningest coach in NFL history... Won Super Bowls VII, VIII... Regular-season record: 328-156-6 (.676)... Overall record: 347-173-6 (.665)... Completed only 17-0 perfect season in NFL history, 1972... Became head coach at age 33... Led Colts to seven straight winning records... In 26 years in Miami, experienced only two seasons below .500... Coached in six Super Bowls... Played seven seasons as defensive back/halfback with Browns, Colts, Redskins... Born January 4, 1930, in Grand River, OH.
Belichick: 347 wins, let's start with it. That's a lot. ... I think Coach Shula really set the standard for all of us that followed. 347 wins, I mean, that says it all.
Collinsworth: He had the (Bob) Griese teams where they were (Larry) Csonka and (Mercury) Morris and they ran the football predominantly and played defense. And then they flipped it right around and had Dan Marino and had (Mark) Duper and (Mark) Clayton and had the same sort of ability to take that passing team and win with it. ... Like Bill, he could take a lot of different styles of play and win with all of them.
Bill Walsh (1979-1988)
1993 Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee... Led 49ers to three Super Bowl wins (XVI, XIX, XXIII) in 10 years... NFL Coach of the Year in 1984 and 1981... Overall record: 102-63-1 (including playoffs)... Led 49ers to first-ever NFL title in just three years... Won six NFC western division titles and three NFC championships... Widely recognized as passing offense expert with keen ability to evaluate talent... Born November 30, 1931, in Los Angeles, CA.
Rice: He was not only a coach; he was like a father to me and he took me under his wing and he gave me an opportunity to just live a dream. He could be your best friend. He could be your worst enemy. And he never felt like you had arrived. I had a game, a Monday night game against the Los Angeles Rams. I had over 10 catches, over 270 yards, three touchdowns and Bill called me up to his office and I'm thinking he's going to call me up and pat me on the back, say "good job." He called me up and said, "I want more from you." I was very shocked but I noticed that Ronnie Lott and also Joe Montana, they were walking up the stairs. He knew how to get everything out of his players.
Belichick: The number one thing I felt like preparing for coach Walsh was the first 15 plays. His team knew those plays; they knew what six was, what seven was, what eight was and they could execute them very quickly with a high efficiency because they practiced them over and over. Defensively, if you went out like we did in 1984, when my daughter was born. We played the 49ers on "Monday Night Football." That's when I really found out, that's when I really got drilled by him. He came in there and he scripted the first 15 plays and we were down 21-0 in the first quarter. Amanda was about to be born that night and I'm thinking to myself, "I might as well leave right now." ... That's the way it was with the 49ers. If they got you early on that script and they got you going and then you were like one play behind or one series behind, it could snowball and it could be brutal.
