NFL 1980s All-Decade Team

The NFL 1980s All-Decade Team was chosen by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The team was composed of outstanding performers in the National Football League in the 1980s.^[1]^[2]^[3] The squad consists of first- and second-team offensive, defensive and special teams units, as well as a first- and second-team head coaches.

Jerry Rice, Anthony Muñoz, and Lawrence Taylor were the only unanimous choices, being named on all 26 ballots. John Hannah was next with 25 votes, followed by Joe Montana at 24½ votes, Walter Payton at 23½ votes, and Ronnie Lott with 23 votes. The safety position was very close as Joey Browner made all decade second team as he came in with 22 votes. Kenny Easley got 22½ votes, just edging out Browner to make the first team. Easley of Seattle slipped between both in the voting as all three could have easily replaced the other in a very tight vote. Hall of Fame coach John Madden scoffed at the idea that Browner wasn’t a member of the first team, Stating “I don’t know how anyone in that room says Joey Browner isn’t the best safety in football!” The overwhelming majority of NFL fans would likely argue that Ronnie Lott was the best Safety in the league during the 80’s; likely due to the San Francisco 49ers dominance during the 80’s, having won 4 Super Bowls.

Walter Payton, John Hannah, Mike Webster, Ted Hendricks, Jack Lambert, Billy Johnson, Rick Upchurch, and Chuck Noll had been previously named to the 1970s All-Decade Team. Jerry Rice, Gary Zimmerman, Bruce Smith, Reggie White, Ronnie Lott, Morten Andersen, Gary Anderson and Sean Landeta were also later named to the 1990s All-Decade Team.

Offense

0*0	Elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame	¤	0~0	Hall of Fame Finalist ^[4]

Position	First Team	Votes	Hall of Fame?	Second Team	Votes	Hall of Fame?
Quarterback	Joe Montana* (San Francisco 49ers)	24½	Yes	Dan Fouts* (San Diego Chargers)	1	Yes
Running back	Walter Payton* (Chicago Bears)	23½	Yes	Roger Craig~ (San Francisco 49ers)	5	2 time finalist
Running back	Eric Dickerson* (Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts)	18	Yes	John Riggins* (Washington Redskins)	3	Yes
Wide receiver	Jerry Rice* (San Francisco 49ers)	26	Yes	James Lofton* (Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Raiders, Buffalo Bills)	2	Yes
Wide receiver	Steve Largent* (Seattle Seahawks)	22	Yes	Art Monk* (Washington Redskins)	2	Yes
Tight end	Kellen Winslow* (San Diego Chargers)	18½	Yes	Ozzie Newsome* (Cleveland Browns)	2	Yes
Tackle	Anthony Muñoz* (Cincinnati Bengals)	26	Yes	Gary Zimmerman* (Minnesota Vikings)	7	Yes
Tackle	Jimbo Covert* (Chicago Bears)	8	Yes	Joe Jacoby (Washington Redskins)	5	3 time finalist
Guard	John Hannah* (New England Patriots)	25	Yes	Bill Fralic (Atlanta Falcons)	4	No
Guard	Russ Grimm* (Washington Redskins)	16	Yes	Mike Munchak* (Houston Oilers)	3	Yes
Center	Dwight Stephenson* (Miami Dolphins)	13	Yes	Mike Webster* (Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs)	10	Yes

Defense

Position	First Team	Votes	Hall of Fame?	Second Team	Votes	Hall of Fame?
Defensive end	Reggie White* (Philadelphia Eagles)	22	Yes	Lee Roy Selmon (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)	3	Yes
Defensive end	Howie Long* (Los Angeles Raiders)	21	Yes	Bruce Smith* (Buffalo Bills)	3	Yes
Defensive tackle	Randy White* (Dallas Cowboys)	22	Yes	Keith Millard (Minnesota Vikings)	7	No
Defensive tackle	Dan Hampton* (Chicago Bears)	12	Yes	Dave Butz (Washington Redskins)	3	No
Middle linebacker	Mike Singletary* (Chicago Bears)	21½	Yes	Jack Lambert* (Pittsburgh Steelers)	4	Yes
Outside linebacker	Lawrence Taylor* (New York Giants)	26	Yes	Andre Tippett* (New England Patriots)	6	Yes
	Ted Hendricks* (Los Angeles Raiders)	18	Yes	Carl Banks (New York Giants)	1	No
	Ted Hendricks* (Los Angeles Raiders)	18	Yes	John Anderson (Green Bay Packers)	1	No
Cornerback	Mike Haynes* (New England Patriots, Los Angeles Raiders)	13	Yes	Frank Minnifield (Cleveland Browns)	7	No
Cornerback	Mel Blount* (Pittsburgh Steelers)	9	Yes	Lester Hayes (Los Angeles Raiders)	4	4 time finalist
Safety	Ronnie Lott* (San Francisco 49ers)	23	Yes	Deron Cherry (Kansas City Chiefs)	5	No
	Kenny Easley* (Seattle Seahawks)	22½	Yes	Nolan Cromwell (Los Angeles Rams)	4	No
	Kenny Easley* (Seattle Seahawks)	22½	Yes	Joey Browner (Minnesota Vikings)	4	No

Special teams

Position	First Team	Votes	Hall of Fame?	Second Team	Votes	Hall of Fame?
Kicker	Morten Andersen* (New Orleans Saints)	12	Yes	Gary Anderson (Pittsburgh Steelers)	4	No
Kicker	Morten Andersen* (New Orleans Saints)	12	Yes	Eddie Murray (Detroit Lions)	4	No
Punter	Sean Landeta (New York Giants)	8	No	Reggie Roby (Miami Dolphins)	6	No
Kick Returner	Mike Nelms (Washington Redskins)	7½	No	Rick Upchurch (Denver Broncos)	5	No
Punt Returner	Billy "White Shoes" Johnson (Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins)	13	No	John Taylor (San Francisco 49ers)	3	No

Coach

Position	First Team	Votes	Hall of Fame?	Second Team	Votes	Hall of Fame?
Coach	Bill Walsh* (San Francisco 49ers)	19	Yes	Chuck Noll* (Pittsburgh Steelers)	3	Yes

References

^ Staff writers (1990-03-15). "Already A Player Of The '70s, Payton Honored For Play In '80s". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. UPI. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
^ "1980s ALL-DECADE FIRST TEAM". NFL.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2010. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
^ "All-NFL Team of the 1980s". USA Today. Gannett. 1990-03-15. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
^ "Finalist list". Pro Football Hall of Fame.com. Retrieved 2012-09-14.

[1] Staff writers (1990-03-15). "Already A Player Of The '70s, Payton Honored For Play In '80s". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. UPI. Retrieved 2008-08-21.

[2] "1980s ALL-DECADE FIRST TEAM". NFL.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2010. Retrieved 2008-08-21.

[3] "All-NFL Team of the 1980s". USA Today. Gannett. 1990-03-15. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved 2009-02-15.

[4] "Finalist list". Pro Football Hall of Fame.com. Retrieved 2012-09-14.

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