Bud Grant isn't the person Bud Grant sees when he pictures the one image that best represents the 56-year history of a Vikings franchise that played in four of the first 11 Super Bowls.
"For me, it's Jim Marshall," said the iconic Hall of Fame coach. "There's a picture of him that I have that says it all. He's standing on the football field. Everything's all muddy. It's snowing. And Jim's got that look. He represented the Vikings better than any player we've ever had. He and Mick [Tingelhoff]. The absolute cornerstone of the Minnesota Vikings. That's Jim Marshall."
Grant has felt that way for close to half a century now. Yes, he was thrilled when Tingelhoff, his other longtime team captain, reached the Hall of Fame in 2015, 37 years after Tingelhoff retired. But Grant considers the quest for Canton only half finished as long as Marshall goes without a gold jacket for what now has been 38 years since he retired in 1979.
"It's one of the big injustices in football," Grant said. "It's a problem that needs fixing."
The Vikings have stepped up efforts to do just that. Ownership campaigned for Marshall during the NFL owners meetings in March. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, it's the no-nonsense 90-year-old Grant who will be reaching out to selectors this week.
"Just give me the names and I'll do whatever it takes," was Grant's reaction when asked to spearhead communication with voters. "I love Jim Marshall. He's one of the most unique guys I ever coached. When I talk about him, it won't be a bunch of baloney, either. I haven't done this a lot. I haven't stepped up to this degree, so I think the credibility is there."
Because Marshall's career ended longer than 25 years ago, his route to Canton must go through the nine-member senior selection committee first. Tingelhoff was Minnesota's first senior committee finalist the year he was enshrined.
In late June of each year, the senior committee receives a preliminary list of 80 to 90 candidates to consider. Marshall is on that list this year, as he has been for years.
That initial field is reduced to 15 semifinalists in a mail-in vote by the full senior committee. After that, five senior committee members travel to the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, in early August. Two current Hall of Famers also are brought in as consultants to discuss the semifinalists.
Once the discussions are complete, the Hall of Famers leave the room and the five senior committee members settle on one or two finalists, depending on the year. This year, there will be two senior finalists that will be presented to the full 48-member selection committee in Minneapolis the day before Super Bowl LII.
To clear the final hurdle, a senior finalist, like a modern finalist, must receive 80 percent of the vote of the full committee. And then, well ...
"I know it changed Carl Eller's life when he went in," Marshall said earlier this month while sitting with his wife, Susan, in their home in St. Louis Park. "He seemed like a different person after he went in. I can't figure out how in the world it would change my life other than it would be good for my grandchildren and great-grandchildren to see. But it definitely would be a good thing and, surely, I would faint."
