Four world champions named finalists

INDIANAPOLIS – Chris Doleman is not one of the four Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists who won a Super Bowl. He doesn’t believe that should affect his chances of being elected to the shrine.

Nor does Troy Aikman.

Doleman terrorized quarterbacks and running backs as a defensive end for the Vikings, Falcons and 49ers for 15 seasons. He led the NFL in sacks in 1989 with 21 on his way to 150½ sacks, fourth all-time when he retired.

Unlike Charles Haley, Bill Parcells, Jerome Bettis and Ed DeBartolo Jr., Doleman never got to the NFL’s biggest stage. They are all among the 17 finalists who will learn Saturday if they are voted into the hall.

“Yes, it can hurt me, and it’s unfair, absolutely,” Doleman said. “I’d like to think the voters look at this and say, ‘Let’s take the Super Bowl out of it.’ These guys were such great players that if you placed them on that particular team, would it have won the Super Bowl? Can you take a Super Bowl player and put him on a team I played on and is he a difference maker?”As Doleman was reflecting on his career, Aikman walked by. Asked how often Doleman put him on his back, he winced and said, “Too many times. More than I care to remember. He was quite a player.”

Doleman is one of four defensive players known for their ability to knock down quarterbacks who made the final list. One of them, Haley, is the only player to win five Super Bowls.

“It’s a great group,” said Doleman. “I would have players and coaches telling me their teams were trying to get people to copy what I was doing.”

The other Super Bowl winners are DeBartolo Jr., who owned the 49ers when they won their five titles from 1981-94; Bettis, who concluded his 13 NFL seasons in 2006 by winning the championship with the Steelers – in the Bus’ hometown of Detroit; and Parcells, who coached the Giants to their 1987 and 1991 Super Bowl victories. Parcells also took the Patriots to the 1997 game they lost to Green Bay.