Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Famer Jim McNally and late Buffalo Bills running backs coach Elijah Pitts are recipients of the Pro Football Hall of Fame鈥檚 Awards of Excellence, it was announced Tuesday.
Offensive line coach Jim McNally, shown in the locker room at his alma mater, the University at Buffalo, in 2005.
It鈥檚 a career accomplishment created by the football shrine in 2022 to recognize significant contributors to the game in 鈥渂ehind-the-scenes鈥 roles. In addition to assistant coaches, Awards of Excellence are given annually to selected public relations personnel, athletic trainers, equipment managers and film/video directors.
McNally and Pitts are joined as coaching honorees by Dick Hoak, longtime running backs coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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McNally, 81, played and coached at the University at Buffalo and then spent 43 seasons in the NFL, becoming a legend among offensive line coaches. McNally entered the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals in 1980. He stayed there until 1994, reaching two Super Bowls and mentoring future Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz for all 13 of his seasons.
Known by friends and colleagues as "Mouse," McNally had stints with the Carolina Panthers (1995-98), the New York Giants (1999-2003) and the Bills (2004-07). Then he served as a consultant with New Orleans for two years, the New York Jets for two years and then the Bengals for a dozen years before his 鈥渟econd retirement鈥 in 2023.
鈥淚 think it is satisfying partly because most of the people who鈥檝e gotten recognized on the offensive line have been on Super Bowl winners,鈥 McNally said from his home in Orchard Park. 鈥淚 was on four Super Bowl teams, three with the Bengals and one with the Giants, and the teams didn鈥檛 win. So I think it has something to say about my contribution to the football world, whether it鈥檚 high school coaches, college coaches.鈥
Besides his famed work for NFL teams, McNally has given coaching clinics across the country for decades, spreading his knowledge and serving as somewhat of a goodwill ambassador for offensive line play at all levels. He still spreads his knowledge with posts on O-line techniques on the social media platform X, where he has 23,000 followers.
There will be a dinner in late June in Canton, Ohio, to honor the Awards of Excellence recipients.
Pitts, who died at age 60 in 1998, was a five-time NFL champion as a running back for the Green Bay Packers. He served 24 years as an NFL assistant coach, starting under head coach Chuck Knox with the Rams in 1974. Pitts moved with Knox to the Bills from 1978 to 1980, then coached Hall of Famer Earl Campbell with the Oilers for two years.
Pitts worked under Marv Levy as Bills running backs coach from 1985 to 1997. He was assistant head coach from 1992 to 1997. Pitts played a big role in mentoring Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas.
