National Football League 1990s All-Decade Team

The NFL 1990s 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 1990s.^[1][2]

The squad consists of first- and second-team offensive, defensive and special teams units, as well as a first- and second-team head coaches. Only a person's performance in the 1990s was used as criteria for voting.^[3]

Bruce Matthews, Jerry Rice, Barry Sanders, Bruce Smith and Reggie White were unanimous choices. Deion Sanders and Mel Gray were the only players to make the team at two positions. Sanders was named first-team cornerback and punt returner while Gray made the second team as both a kick and punt returner. Morten Andersen, Gary Anderson, Sean Landeta, Ronnie Lott, Gary Zimmerman, Rice, Bruce Smith, and White were all named to the 1980s All-Decade Team. Larry Allen, Warren Sapp, and Willie Roaf were also named to the 2000s All-Decade Team.

Offense

Position	First Team	Hall of Fame?	Second Team	Hall of Fame?
Quarterback	John Elway (Denver Broncos)	Yes	Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers)	e-2016
Running Back	Barry Sanders (Detroit Lions)	Yes	Thurman Thomas (Buffalo Bills)	Yes
	Emmitt Smith (Dallas Cowboys)	Yes	Terrell Davis (Denver Broncos)	No
Wide receiver	Jerry Rice (San Francisco 49ers)	Yes	Michael Irvin (Dallas Cowboys)	Yes
	Cris Carter (Minnesota Vikings)	No	Tim Brown (Los Angeles/ Oakland Raiders)	No
Tight end	Shannon Sharpe (Denver Broncos)	Yes	Ben Coates (New England Patriots)	No
Tackle	Willie Roaf (New Orleans Saints)	No	Tony Boselli (Jacksonville Jaguars)	No
	Gary Zimmerman (Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos)	Yes	Richmond Webb (Miami Dolphins)	No
Guard	Bruce Matthews (Houston Oilers/ Tennessee Oilers/ Tennessee Titans)	Yes	Larry Allen (Dallas Cowboys)	e-2013
	Randall McDaniel (Minnesota Vikings)	Yes	Steve Wisniewski (Los Angeles/ Oakland Raiders)	No
Center	Dermontti Dawson (Pittsburgh Steelers)	No	Mark Stepnoski (Dallas Cowboys, Houston/ Tennessee Oilers)	No

Defense

Position	First Team	Hall of Fame?	Second Team	Hall of Fame?
Defensive end	Bruce Smith (Buffalo Bills)	Yes	Chris Doleman (Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers)	No
	Reggie White (Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers)	Yes	Neil Smith (Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos)	No
Defensive tackle	Cortez Kennedy (Seattle Seahawks)	No	Warren Sapp (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Oakland Raiders)	e-2013
	John Randle (Minnesota Vikings)	Yes	Bryant Young (San Francisco 49ers)	e-2013
Linebacker	Junior Seau (San Diego Chargers)	e-2015	Hardy Nickerson (Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)	No
	Derrick Thomas (Kansas City Chiefs)	Yes	Cornelius Bennett (Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts)	No
	Kevin Greene (Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers)	No	Levon Kirkland (Pittsburgh Steelers)	No
Cornerback	Deion Sanders (Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys)	Yes	Darrell Green (Washington Redskins)	Yes
	Rod Woodson (Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Ravens)	Yes	Aeneas Williams (Phoenix/ Arizona Cardinals)	No
Safety	Steve Atwater (Denver Broncos, New York Jets)	No	Carnell Lake (Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars)	No
	LeRoy Butler (Green Bay Packers)	No	Ronnie Lott (San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Raiders, New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs)	Yes

Special teams

Position	First Team	Hall of Fame?	Second Team	Hall of Fame?
Kicker	Morten Andersen (New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons)	e-2013	Gary Anderson (Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings)	No
Punter	Darren Bennett (San Diego Chargers)	No	Sean Landeta (New York Giants, L.A./ St. Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles)	e-2012
Kick Returner	Michael Bates (Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers)	No	Mel Gray (Detroit Lions, Houston/ Tennessee Oilers, Philadelphia Eagles)	No
Punt Returner	Deion Sanders (Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys)	Yes	Mel Gray (Detroit Lions, Houston/ Tennessee Oilers, Philadelphia Eagles)	No

Coach

Position	First Team	Hall of Fame?	Second Team	Hall of Fame?
Coach	Bill Parcells (New York Giants, New England Patriots, New York Jets)	e-2012	Marv Levy (Buffalo Bills)	Yes

Key

• Under "Hall of Fame" if a year is listed, i.e., "e-2010", that is the year player is eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

References

1. ^ "NFL selects All-Decade Team". Santa Fe New Mexican. 2000-07-25. http://www.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewerTags.aspx?img=108531712&firstvisit=true&src=search&currentResult=3. Retrieved 2009-02-14. 
2. ^ "1990s ALL-DECADE TEAM". NFL.com. http://www.nfl.com/history/legends/1990s. Retrieved 2008-08-21. 
3. ^ "1990s ALL DECADE TEAM". Packers.com. Pro Football Hall of Fame. 2000-07-25. http://www.packers.com/news/releases/2000/07/07-25.html. Retrieved 2009-02-14. ^{[dead link]}