KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Dante Hall made the Kansas City Chiefs as a rookie in 2000 as a return specialist.
Then-coach Gunther Cunningham benched him after five games and he wasn’t active for another game the rest of the season.
“I really thought it was over,” Hall said. “I started looking for other options outside of football, trying to figure out what I was going to do because I thought I was going to be one-and-done.”
Cunningham was fired after the season and Kansas City’s new coach, Dick Vermeil, kept Hall around for training camp.
But the road remained rocky.
During that camp, Hall was locked in a position battle with J.J. Moses — and he’d pegged himself as the odd man out.
“My attitude probably wasn’t the best,” Hall said. “I had a little chip on my shoulder and J.J. was beloved. But it worked out.”
That’s because Vermeil and his offensive coordinator, Al Saunders, “saw something in me I didn’t see in myself, especially when they said I had to move from running back to wide receiver. But thank god he saw it.”
By Hall’s third season, he’d emerged as a Pro Bowl return specialist with a penchant for game-changing, season-altering plays.
Hall earned the nickname “The X-Factor” for such clutch performances and was dubbed “The Human Joystick” for his ability to leave a trail of flailing defenders in his wake.
During five seasons from 2002-06, Hall scored 11 special-teams touchdowns — six punt returns and five kickoff returns — and also worked himself into a role with the offense.
Still, he never dreamed where it would lead one day — the Chiefs Hall of Fame.
Hall was inducted into the Chiefs Ring of Honor during a halftime ceremony Sunday afternoon, an honor he never dared to dream of during those early struggles to find a footing in the NFL.
“I was just happy to be drafted, happy to have had the career I had, and I was good,” Hall said.
Seeing his name added among the franchise’s all-time greats was overwhelming.
“Literally, I had chills running through my body,” Hall said. “The emotions were overwhelming. I just tried to keep it compartmentalized and keep it within, but I definitely felt it and felt the love from the fans as well.”
Hall spent Friday and Saturday hanging out with his former teammates and other Chiefs legends. But family became the priority Sunday as the induction drew near, Hall said.
“The greatest part about this honor is getting everyone that I love the most in one general area,” Hall said. “Having my kids be able to witness that, I just really can’t even put it in words.
These days, Hall — a father of four — said he strives to be the best dad he can be.
He also shared a text Vermeil sent after the induction ceremony: “Dante, an honor that you earned the old-fashioned way — by working hard. Proud of you as well as loving you. Coach V.”
As for the current Chiefs, Hall said he’s in awe of the play design and Patrick Mahomes’ “generational talent,” so of course he daydreams about how he’d have performed on today’s squad.
“I could have been Tyreek Hill Jr.,” Hall said.
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