Ira Kaufman Remains On Pro Football Hall Of Fame Selection Committee
September 17th, 2026
As heard Monday on the JoeBucsFan Show on WDAE radio, JoeBucsFan.com columnist/podcaster Ira Kaufman is remaining on the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee after an overhaul of the process that cut the committee from 50 to 28 voting selectors.
The Hall of Fame has made no formal announcement and the list of selectors on its website reads “TBD,” but Kaufman was advised of his status last week. Several selectors who got launched shared their departures on social media.
Interestingly, the Hall dumped Hall of Famers Tony Dungy and Bill Polian from their selection committee. But Kaufman will continue on.
On the Ira Kaufman Podcast that pops later today, Kaufman will note his new assignments on other Hall committees.
The Hall of Fame is lucky to have Kaufman, who has logged 50 years in the sports media world, plus a lot longer than that as an avid football fan. Kaufman, 72, started covering the NFL in the 1970s and became a full-time New York Giants beat writer in 1979 before moving to Pinellas County to cover the Buccaneers in 1985.
Kaufman takes his Hall duties extremely seriously and brings perspective the institution desperately needs.
As part of the new selection process, no selectors will present finalists for a vote. That will be handled by a dedicated presenter assigned to all finalists in a given year.
So on voting day, Kaufman’s job will be to listen, debate and vote — and put a quality dent in the Hall of Fame buffet.
September 17th, 2026 at 8:36 am
YEAH!!! DONUTS FOR EVERYONE!!!!
September 17th, 2026 at 8:37 am
Well deserved.
September 17th, 2026 at 8:39 am
JBF and Ira, definitely my favorite pro sports team. Never let me down, unlike the current hc of the tbb
September 17th, 2026 at 8:40 am
Why did they cut people from the HOF committee???
September 17th, 2026 at 8:42 am
Congrats to Ira, what a dang honor dude
September 17th, 2026 at 8:45 am
“Ira Kaufman Remains On Pro Football Hall Of Fame Selection Committee” Good to hear…I was wondering about that.
@Cosmo = I believe the cuts were in response to Belichick not being selected into the hall. Signed: Babs Kramer.
September 17th, 2026 at 8:58 am
The Hall Of Fame Selection Committee is a ( Complete) joke
I don’t blame TO for boycotting his introduction
September 17th, 2026 at 9:00 am
Lucky to have ya’ Ira!
Well deserved
September 17th, 2026 at 9:01 am
congrats Ira!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
September 17th, 2026 at 9:05 am
Seems like the HOF should allow HOF’ers to vote. That’s how the NFL selects its All-Pro players — the players themselves vote.
Actually, a panel of 50 votes for All-Pro, mostly media. Ira is on that committee, too.–Joe
I’m not saying I don’t think Ira should be in there, but it seems like the voting process should be slightly less exclusive. Maybe a step process where the Ira-types are the first hurdle, then the HOF’ers vote the finalists in.
September 17th, 2026 at 9:11 am
The Pro Football Hall of Fame allegedly didn’t like how the selectors voted (Belicheat) even though they followed the rules. So they changed the rules. Classic overreaction and this is not good for Simeon Rice or Lavonte David. At all.
“This Joe” does NOT like how each NFL market is no longer represented.
September 17th, 2026 at 9:36 am
Good job Sage!
More than deserved
September 17th, 2026 at 9:37 am
Phew!
September 17th, 2026 at 9:49 am
I believe the purge of voters (rightfully) was for their condemnation of making Belichick a 1st ballot HoFer. Shame on them for that and of the ones that got the boot did refuse to acknowledge Belichick’s NFL resume, then good riddance, and they look like a bunch of crybabies.
September 17th, 2026 at 9:51 am
Thanks for commenting about Belichick, Joe! I agree with your sentiment. I also believe the reaction to the shunning of Belichick should have a finger wagging at those who refused him in the first ballot. “This is why we can’t have nice things” comes to mind.
September 17th, 2026 at 9:57 am
Congrats, Ira
September 17th, 2026 at 10:29 am
More than well deserved. Ira always has a balanced perspective on the league and has the longevity to assess the contributions of candidates with fairness. He knows the difference between “great” and “very good”, and won’t be biased in favor of the big markets to the exclusion of the NFL backwaters.
September 17th, 2026 at 10:32 am
So no longer a presenter? Joe, how many Bucs did Ira present? That shouldn’t be overlooked in getting our beloved Bucs into the hall. Might I suggest Gruden take a few notes from Ira?
September 17th, 2026 at 10:49 am
One podcast a week is that the new deal.
Best bucs podcast by far. But they just don’t want to do it.
Podcast must not pay like posting articles.
September 17th, 2026 at 10:50 am
I mean.. to note vote in BB.. whatever you may feel about him.. made the Hall lose all credibility… it might as well be the Kids choice awards or something
September 17th, 2026 at 11:26 am
I came here to see if Joe posted about Dungy being removed, which on the surface is absolutely BS.
I did find this nugget “It is not publicly known exactly how Tony Dungy voted. While he has not explicitly confirmed if he left Bill Belichick off his Pro Football Hall of Fame ballot, he defended the voting process following the backlash over Belichick’s omission, fueling widespread speculation that he did not vote for him.’ Yahoo Sports
If this is the case… then I actually can see how… the HOF had no valid reason to NOT vote Bill B in… how many Super Bowls does a coach need to win to get in on the 1st ballot? It was a huge mistake overlooking Bill B, like him or not… afterall it is a football hall of fame, not the nobel peace prize.
September 17th, 2026 at 12:02 pm
There were candidates nearing the end of their eligibility that some voters wanted to prioritize over a head coach who without doubt is going to get in eventually. But everyone got their knickers in a twist because Belichick didn’t get in the first time around. Like there aren’t plenty of other Hall of Famers who had to wait a year.
September 17th, 2026 at 12:26 pm
How is one person going to present ALL candidates each year? It sounds like Ira put quite a bit of time into his past presentations of eligible Bucs.