Patriots Hall of Fame committee will meet "virtually."

It's time to select the nominees for the Patriots Hall of Fame vote.

We members of the Patriots Hall of Fame Nominating Committee had a test yesterday of the technology it will take on Monday for us to do our jobs, and I'd have to say it went well.

Under the guiding presence of Stacey James, the team's vice president in charge of media relations, about a dozen of us or more (it was hard to tell) hooked up together electronically via Cisco Technologies' Webex service to hold a virtual meeting in advance of our actual session on Monday. Maybe there were one or two glitches (and an awful lot of backlighting that obscured the faces of a few individuals), but I think we're ready to undertake our annual responsibilities of picking the three nominees for the fan vote that will select the next member of the Patriots Hall of Fame.

Usually, we all gather at Gillette Stadium to accomplish this task -- either in a luxury box, or maybe in one of the Patriot Place restaurants. But that won't be the case this year as the nation continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. I'm just glad we're going to be able to do it, period. It's one of those small, hopeful signs that at some point during 2020, we're all going to be able to get out of our houses and gather again to celebrate the fruits of our labors.

For those of you unaware of what this is all about, this is the 14th year that a nominating committee has met to select three finalists. I've made it to all but one of them; had to finish the winter-sports all-star section for The Sun Chronicle in 2018, my last year employed by the newspaper, and couldn't get out of the office. This will be my second year with "retired" status next to my name.

There are usually around 20 of us involved, including retired media members, current beat writers, broadcasters, Hall of Fame members and team officials. I probably won't know exactly who is participating this year until we all turn on our computers Monday. Sadly, we lost veteran member Dick Cerasuolo, retired from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, earlier this year.

Patriots Hall of Fame members, from left: Steve Nelson, 

Michael Haynes, John Hannah, Steve Grogan

We pick three players or coaches that have been retired from football for at least four years, and then fans vote online for the player that they want. From what I've been told, the largest vote-getters in our committee meetings have almost always been the fans' eventual selections.

Since 2007, we have thus added Stanley Morgan, Ben Coates, Jim Nance, Sam "Bam" Cunningham, Drew Bledsoe, Troy Brown, Tedy Bruschi, Ty Law, Kevin Faulk, Raymond Clayborn, Matt Light and Rodney Harrison to the Hall. In addition, a "senior selection committee" (of which I am also a member, having covered the team for 41 seasons before retiring) has added three other players from the more distant past -- Jon Morris, Houston Antwine and Leon Gray -- to bring the players' membership to 27. And, team owner Robert Kraft has utilized his ultimate say by making two very worthwhile selections as "contributors," former owner Billy Sullivan and long-time broadcaster Gil Santos.

(As an aside, I've only disagreed with two of the selections. I thought Faulk's vote was skewed by his appearing on national TV during the 2016 NFL Draft wearing a Tom Brady jersey at the height of the Deflategate controversy, and I thought Gray's tenure in New England was too short and that his Pro Bowl selections with the Houston Oilers were being erroneously factored into his Patriots tenure. But we are a democracy.)

Wes Welker, first-time eligible in 2020.

I imagine this year's meeting will go pretty quickly, and that's presuming that technical glitches will not blast us all into the ozone. There are two first-year-eligible players of note, guard Logan Mankins and wide receiver Wes Welker. Defensive end Richard Seymour, who came close to selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this past year, has been on the fan ballot three times and has not won. Linebacker Mike Vrabel, the current coach of the Tennessee Titans, has been on four times without success.

My guess is that the three nominees will come from out of that foursome, although I suspect that a few of my colleagues will suggest fan favorites such as Mosi Tatupu, Russ Francis or Lawyer Milloy -- perfect if we were picking a Hall of Very Good.

Bill Parcells: Yes, he should be in.

And someone will probably bring up Bill Parcells again. I've done it several times, but I think that ship has sailed. He's been on the ballot three times without success, and while that isn't necessarily the kiss of death (Clayborn made it on his fourth try), I have to recognize that a large segment of the voter base will not vote for the Tuna because of the way he left here for the New York Jets.

I think that's wrong, of course. No one did more in four short years to bring legitimacy to this franchise than Parcells. The team he took over in 1993 was a mess from the top of the front office all the way down to the last janitor. Parcells brought structure and organization to a team that had none, and he put down the foundation for the dynasty that would follow after the Pete Carroll hiccup. Fans that still have their panties in a bunch over his departure should simply get a life.

Personally, I believe that Kraft should put aside whatever differences he may have with Parcells and add his name to the Patriots Hall of Fame as a contributor. Neither man is getting any younger, and I'd think both would want to enjoy a moment of this sort while they are still alive.

And no, Tom Brady is not eligible. And he won't be until four years after he retires. Had he decided to retire at the end of last season, I would have definitely suggested at the next meeting that we waive both the nomination process and the fans' vote and just put him in. But the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? We'll see you soon enough, Tom. Hope Gisele enjoys "Tompa Bay."

Our other task Monday will be to select an All-Decade team from 2010-19, and again, this shouldn't be too difficult. After all, are we going to debate Jacoby Brissett as the quarterback? I can see maybe only two or three positions where a consensus won't be reached in mere minutes.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the meeting, virtual as it will be, and chatting with some of my old friends like Ron Hobson of The Patriot Ledger, Howard Ulman of the Associated Press and Glen Farley of the Brockton Enterprise, all now wandering aimlessly through the mists of retirement as I am.