Pro Football Hall of Fame releases 2024 recipients of Awards of Excellence

CANTON – On Wednesday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the 2024 recipients of the Awards of Excellence. Launched in 2022, the Awards of Excellence honors individuals in five categories for their accomplishments in the NFL.

“This year’s 15 outstanding assistant coaches, athletic trainers, equipment managers, film/video directors and public relations personnel have no doubt left indelible marks on their respective clubs and professional football,” Hall of Fame PresidentJim Porter said in a statement released by the Hall. “Countless hours have been spent over many years by each of these individuals making their fields, their former clubs and the National Football League better.”

Receiving Awards of Excellence for 2024 are: 

• Assistant coaches Monte Kiffin, Bill McPherson and Lionel Taylor;
• Athletic trainers Steve Antonopulos, Dean Kleinschmidt and Bill Tessendorf; 
• Equipment managers Bill Hampton Sr., Don Hewitt and Richard “Dick” Romanski; 
• Film/video directors Tom Atcheson, Bob McCartney and Dave Levy;
• Public relations directors Dan Edwards, Harvey Greene and Frank Ramos. 

Collectively, this group's impact on pro football dates back to the 1960s, in both the AFL and NFL, spanning 70 years of the game's history and growth. The honorees have connections to the first three Super Bowls and many Super Bowls since, in addition to the Combine and the Pro Bowl. They worked alongside numerous Hall of Famers, in some cases as mentors to them, and for one of them, the first game they ever filmed ended with the “Immaculate Reception.”

The Hall of Fame will recognize the 15 Awards of Excellence recipients in Canton with an evening reception June 26 and a luncheon June 27, emceed by Hall of Famer Dan Fouts.

Also this year at the awards luncheon, the Hall of Fame will honor the winner of its annual photo contest. Photographs taken during the 2023 NFL season in the “Action” and “Feature” categories and entered in the contest are eligible for awards. A panel of professional photographers will judge the entries and pick first-, second- and third-place finishers in each category.

The Photograph of the Year – chosen from the first-place winners in the Action and Feature categories – will be deemed winner of the 56th annual Dave Boss Award of Excellence. That photographer will be invited to Canton for the June 26-27 program, and his/her image will be placed on display in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Here's more info on each of the 2024 Awards of Excellence honorees, courtesy of the Hall of Fame:

2024 Awards of Excellence for assistant coaches 

Monte Kiffin

Known by many for his time in Tampa Bay (1996-2008) alongside Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy, Kiffin began his stint in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers in 1983. Serving as an assistant coach for eight teams until 2015, he helped create and implement the “Tampa 2” defensive scheme that eventually propelled the Buccaneers to their victory in Super Bowl XXXVII. He remains involved in the game as a consultant and analyst at the University of Mississippi, where his son, Lane, is the head coach.

Bill McPherson 

Hired by Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh in his first season with the San Francisco 49ers in 1979, McPherson was part of the organization’s five Super Bowl championships (XVI, XIX, XXIII, XXIV, and XXIX). One of the most respected teachers in the game during his time, McPherson worked in multiple capacities on the 49ers’ coaching staff for 20 years until 1999, when he transitioned into a role in the front office. 

Lionel Taylor

A two-time Super Bowl champion (IX, X) as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Taylor’s coaching career spanned 29 years, including college and the World Football League (WFL). Before earning a coordinator position with the Los Angeles Rams (1980-81) and later the Cleveland Browns (1989), Taylor mentored the likes of future Hall of Famers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth during seven seasons with the Steelers as wide receivers coach

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2024 Awards of Excellence for athletic trainers

Steve Antonopulos

Throughout his career spanning 45 seasons, Antonopulos (known to many as “Greek”) served as the head athletic trainer for the Denver Broncos from 1980-2017, followed by director of sports medicine from 2017-21. He received numerous awards during his tenure in the NFL, including the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award (2005) and the Fain-Cain Memorial Award Most Outstanding NFL Athletic Trainer Award (2010-11), among others. 

Dean Kleinschmidt

Beginning his NFL career as an intern for the 1967 and 1968 Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, Kleinschmidt became the head athletic trainer for the Saints at the age of 23, making history as the youngest head trainer in the NFL. He remained with the Saints for a 31 years, working under 17 NFL coaches. A member of five halls of fame, he earned the Tim Kerin Award for Excellence in Athletic Training by NATA in 2002. 

Bill Tessendorf

Tessendorf’s athletic training journey began in 1973 with the Cleveland Browns, where he spent more than 20 years of his professional career before the franchise relocated to Baltimore. “Tess” was a trailblazer in player safety advocacy, becoming the first representative of athletic trainers on the NFL Injury & Safety panel. For his career, he calls the Super Bowl victory as the head athletic trainer for the Ravens in 2001 as his “crowning achievement.”

2024 Awards of Excellence for equipment managers

Bill Hampton Sr.

From 1964 until 2002, Hampton was responsible for the equipment management of the New York Jets. Retired after 723 games with the Jets, missing only one game – in 1984 – for a medical issue. Credited with the idea of outfitting players in pantyhose to keep their legs warm during frigid conditions in New York and for sewing pockets onto the jerseys of quarterbacks, running backs and receivers. His career began in the National Hockey League in 1945 with the New York Rangers. 

Don Hewitt

The Los Angeles Rams brought Hewitt on staff in 1967, where his professional career lasted 32 years. He supervised the equipment move when the team opened Rams Park in Anaheim, Calif., in 1981, and he helped in the move to St. Louis in 1995. Before joining the ranks of the NFL, he served in WWII in naval aviation, coached high school football for a decade and was equipment manager at the University of Southern California for two years. Worked 14 Pro Bowls. 

Richard “Dick” Romanski 

Romanski came to the Oakland Raiders in 1963 when Hall of Famer Al Davis was named head coach and general manager. He served as the Raiders’ equipment manager for more than five decades, a timespan that included an AFL title in 1968 and a subsequent appearance in Super Bowl II, followed later by three Super Bowl victories (XI, XV, XVIII). Romanski is a member of his high school and college halls of fame and an Army veteran.

2024 Awards of Excellence for film/video directors

Tom Atcheson

Atcheson was the film/video director for the Atlanta Falcons for 22 seasons (1979-2000) following a lengthy stint as a camera operator for NFL Films under future Hall of Fame enshrinee Ed Sabol. He got his first taste of photography while in the Air Force. He led the Falcons’ transition from analog to digital throughout their operations. He helped design the video booth at the Georgia Dome. He is credited with establishing procedures at the NFL Combine that are still in use. 

Bob McCartney

McCartney has worked for the Steelers for 51 seasons, and the first game he filmed was an iconic one, the playoff game against the Raiders that ended with “Immaculate Reception.” While McCartney had filmed practice on occasion for the team during the 1972 season, he never filmed a game as he was working part-time helping in other departments, including the equipment and training room. He now serves as the Steelers’ director of facilities. 

Dave Levy

Levy began his 29 years in Tampa Bay in 1988 and served as an instrumental voice in the development and layout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ new training facility at One Buccaneer Place, which opened in 2006. He was tasked with all video aspects for the NFL Combine during his 29 years and was a representative of the Bucs at the NFL Draft for more than two decades. 

2024 Awards of Excellence for public relations director

Dan Edwards

In 1994, the Jacksonville Jaguars hired Edwards as the franchise’s 15th employee. He worked in the public relations department from the team’s inaugural season in 1995 until 2021. Prior to that time, he worked on the public relations staff in the Commissioner’s Office, then joined the Steelers for nine years (1985-94). He was recruited by the league office each January to work on the NFL’s staff, serving the media and promoting the game at Super Bowls. 

Harvey Greene

For 33 years, Greene worked for the Miami Dolphins – 29 years in the public relations department, followed by four years as the Vice President of Historical Affairs. He was a fixture on the NFL’s Super Bowl staff and was the key public relations contact for Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino and coach Don Shula. Prior to working in the NFL, Greene worked for the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball. 

Frank Ramos

Ramos spent his entire 39-year public relations career with the New York Jets, from the team’s first season in 1963 through 2001. He never missed a game – 681 in all – with the highlight coming in Miami in January 1969, when the Jets upset the favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. He was selected as a member of the Super Bowl group each year of his career and was often a key voice in helping shape the NFL’s public relations positions.

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