CANTON, Ohio (AP) — Troy Polamalu, Bill Cowher and Donnie Shell were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday night as members of the NFL's 2020 Class.

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The premise that Troy Polamalu was a freelance safety who ignored his assignments has some truth to it.

The bigger truth is that Polamalu made plays regardless of the scheme and defensive call, and the rest of the Pittsburgh Steelers defenders understood -- and were thrilled he did so.

Polamalu has been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a 12-season career filled with spectacular performances, leadership and, well, winning.

The 16th overall draft pick in 2003 from Southern California, he played in three Super Bowls, winning two, and made the NFL's 2000s Team of the Decade.

Mentioning what drove him to such a great career, he talked about the "willingness to push beyond what the brain says is possible for the body. Football challenged me mentally, physically and spiritually. I had to succeed to quench this desire."

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The steely jaw. That's the physical feature that seemed to define Bill Cowher.

Of course, when you win a Super Bowl, coach a contending team for 15 seasons and develop some of the most talented players of the era, there is so much more. And Cowher's entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the centennial class proves it.

Cowher was only 34 years old when he replaced Chuck Noll, who merely won four championships with Pittsburgh, in 1992. A bit of a surprise choice by the Rooney family, he rewarded their faith in him by leading the Steelers to 161 victories, including the postseason. Only Paul Brown has matched Cowher in guiding his team to the playoffs in each of his first six seasons.

"What a weekend for the Pittsburgh Steelers," Cowher said as Terrible Towels waved throughout the stadium. "It is unbelievable to me to go in the Hall of Fame with two guys you drafted: Troy Polamalu and Alan Faneca. Also, with Donnie Shell and the late, great Bill Nunn."

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Donnie Shell has been compared to a member of a great band from which many other artists already had received top accolades.

But to keep up with the others in that group, Shell needed to be just as accomplished. And now he has been recognized for his skills, being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the centennial class.

Shell was a linebacker at South Carolina State who went undrafted, was shifted to safety in Pittsburgh and became a tackling machine. With veterans on strike in his rookie year of 1974, Shell made such an impression that coach Chuck Noll inserted him as a starting safety. He spent 14 seasons as a fixture for the Steelers.

With hundreds of Terrible Towels waving, Shell recognized Steeler Nation and then said of being an undrafted free agent from South Carolina State, "When facts get in the way of your goal, you must go against the grain to achieve your goal."

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Former Steelers' Guard Alan Faneca and longtime team scout Bill Nunn will be enshrined Sunday night as members of the 2021 Hall of Fame Class.

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