Fans can submit nominations for Steelers' 4th annual Hall of Honor class

For the first time, the Pittsburgh Steelers are soliciting nominations for the fourth annual Hall of Honor class.

Fans, however, better hurry with their submissions. Voting ends April 17.

The Hall of Honor, which started in 2017 with a 27-member class, has 36 representatives. Five members were inducted in 2018 and four last year — Bill Cowher, Hines Ward, Larry Brown and Elbie Nickel.

To be considered for the Hall of Honor, a former player must be retired for at least three years and played at least three seasons for the Steelers. Former coaches and contributors also will be considered for nomination.

The obvious top candidate for induction this year is safety Troy Polamalu, who was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility and is scheduled to be enshrined in an August ceremony in Canton, Ohio. All other members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame from the Steelers are in the Hall of Honor.

Other players of recent vintage who merit consideration are tight end Heath Miller and linebacker Greg Lloyd. Candidates from the four-time Super Bowl winners in the 1970s include tackle Jon Kolb, defensive lineman Dwight White and safety Mike Wagner.

No assistant coach has been selected to the Hall of Honor. Could former defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau be the first? He hasn’t been retired from coaching for three seasons, but that rule doesn’t seem to apply to non-players.

Candidates from the contributor category include late broadcaster Myron Cope and director of player personnel Dick Haley, one of the architects of the 1970s dynasty and father of former Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

A link to submit nominations on the Steelers web site can be found here.