Corey Dillon rants about omission from Bengals’ Ring of Honor, Pro Football Hall of Fame: It’s ‘near criminal’

Former NFL running back Corey Dillon is not happy with what he believes to be a lack of recognition by his former teams and the league. Dillon was very outspoken when discussing where he feels like he should sit in NFL history.

While speaking to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic, an angry Dillon did not hold back and made it clear he wanted his thoughts to go on the record.

“Man, you can quote me word-for-f—–g word,” Dillon said. “Print it. Because nobody gets this shit. I want it exactly how I told you. No spins. No nothing.”

His criticisms were lengthy, calling his omission from the Cincinnati Bengals‘ Ring of Honor and the Pro Football Hall of Fame “criminal.”

“It’s damn-near criminal, what [voters] are pulling off, to be honest with you,” Dillon, 48, said on not being in the Bengals’ Ring of Honor. “Did I not play for them? I don’t know, bro. I’m curious about that. Because it looks like they are glossing over me. For what reason? Because I left? That’s not a good enough reason. You are telling me there’s five other guys better than me — at my position? And trust me, this is no knock on whoever is getting in, who goes in, that’s not what it is about. It’s about what is your excuse going to be? I’m pretty sure they will put f—–g Jon Kitna in there before they put me. Matter of fact, Scott Mitchell will end up in that motherf—– before I do.”

During his decade-long career, Dillon played for the Bengals and the New England Patriots. His résumé includes a Super Bowl XXXIX championship with the New England Patriots and four Pro Bowl selections, three on the Bengals. He finished his career with 2,618 carries for 11,241 rushing yards and 82 touchdowns. 

While with the Bengals, Dillon rushed for 8,061 career yards, including six straight seasons with over 1,100 yards rushing.

He broke records during his time in Cincinnati, including rushing 39 times for 246 yards and four touchdowns in one game in his rookie season, breaking a 40-year record set by Jim Brown. Dillon is still the Bengals’ stats leader for carries, yards and touchdowns by a rookie in a single game.

In 2000, Dillon set what was then a record for most rushing yards in a game with 278, breaking Walter Payton’s record of 275. The record has since been broken, but he remains the Bengals’ leader for yards and yards per carry (12.64) in a single game. 

The former running back does not approve of how players get inducted into the Bengals’ Ring of Honor. He alluded that it was more of a popularity contest then for players who put up the best numbers. If Dillon had his way, the front office would be in charge of who is selected rather than season-ticket holders.

“And that’s garbage,” Dillon said on the selection process. “That’s garbage. This should be solely predicated on the authorities of the Bengals. The owner. The president. Whatever. There should be a special committee. This ain’t a popularity contest. This is football. You are going to put in somebody who is more popular than somebody who got stats?”

Dillon is not stopping at the Ring of Honor; he is going for a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“I want it all,” Dillon said. “I am coming for it all. You know why? Because I earned it. I’m not one of these borderline guys sitting on my ass reminiscing, talking about, ‘Oh, if I had this, shoulda, coulda, woulda.’ No. I’m justified.”

Dillon believes his off-the-field situations, including a DUI that was reduced to reckless driving and a spousal abuse assault charged that was dropped due to lack of evidence, are part of the reason he is not being honored. He said a lot of Hall of Famers “did far more worse shit” than he did, so people can “cancel out that excuse.”

“… There has been a lot of wrong that needs to be un-wronged. Nobody gets this. We can cancel out that excuse,” Dillon said of any news about his life outside of football. “There is no excuse for that. On top of that, I thought the game was predicated on numbers. Are people looking at the numbers like, ‘Nah, nah’? I don’t think so.”

Dillon is upset that he is not being acknowledged by the Bengals and the league, but he is also not thrilled with the Patriots.

“Don’t make this a Cincinnati thing, because I’m about to get on the Pats’ ass, too,” he said. “It’s coming. I’m coming for it all. Give it to me while I’m breathing. If anybody wants to disagree, just go look at the f—–g numbers and have a Coke and a smile.”

Dillon played in eight playoff games for the Patriots, starting six. In those games he had 120 carries for 508 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. 

The Patriots have a Hall of Fame with nominations selected by a Hall of Fame committee, mostly consisting of media, staff and Patriots alumni. The members vote on a top three, which is then voted on by the public.