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Joined by Larry Allen, Cris Carter, Jonathan Ogden, Warren Sapp and two senior candidates, Parcells will go in without another prominent Giant, Michael Strahan, who failed to make the cut in his first year of eligibility.

"It's just unbelievable," Parcells said in a phone interview aired during the presentation. "It's a great thrill."

The members of the voting committee present at the announcement said Parcells inspired the longest and liveliest debate of the 17 finalists, with the discussion over his candidacy lasting more than one hour.

"I don't think there's any question that Bill Parcells is a Hall of Fame coach," said Tom Coughlin, the current Giants coach. "He has Hall of Fame accomplishments throughout his entire career.

"Parcells coached for a long time, he worked for a lot of different franchises," Coughlin added. "It was kind of surprising to me, after the first go-round, I thought, 'Why isn't he in?' "

John Mara, the Giants' president and chief executive, concurred.

"I'm very happy for Bill," Mara said. "This is long overdue. He's one of the best coaches in N.F.L. history."

Parcells, ever the irascible coach, got into it a bit with one of his fellow inductees, showing at 71 that he can still have fun.

"You were one of the finest coaches to ever coach in the N.F.L.," Ogden, a longtime left tackle for the Baltimore Ravens, said of Parcells. "I want to congratulate you."

"I guess I have a different perspective on you," Parcells replied. "I always thought you were a pain in the neck."

Ogden and Allen were on the ballot for the first time, and the two low-key offensive linemen seemed happy and relaxed onstage, saying they had not considered their chances all that much and that they were happy to be there.

Their casual demeanor served as a sharp contrast to Carter and Sapp, both of whom displayed plenty of dramatics.

Carter seemingly had the most cause to be excited because it was his sixth time on the ballot. His enshrinement makes him the first of three high-profile wide receivers — the others are Tim Brown and Andre Reed — to break through after failing to make the Hall in recent years despite excellent statistics.

"One of us had to get in," Carter said to laughs from everyone on stage. "It's becoming very difficult to judge the skill of a wide receiver in today's game. But one thing you can judge them on is the numbers."

In terms of numbers, Carter's candidacy was hard to argue with. The longtime Minnesota Vikings star retired second to Jerry Rice in nearly every receiving category and is still in the top five in receptions and receiving touchdowns.

His 13,899 receiving yards are ninth in N.F.L. history.

Over the past few years, Carter, Brown and Reed had appeared on the ballot a combined 17 times without getting in. The writers cited the inflation of statistics as the main reason for the struggles of wide receivers in recent years.

The fifth modern candidate, Sapp, was his typical boisterous self, but he took time to credit his Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates, saying that without Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and others, he knew he would not be sitting there.

Still, he did take time to congratulate himself as well.

"Marshall said it was heaven," Sapp said his co-worker at the NFL Network, Marshall Faulk, had told him of being elected. "Where's my wings at? I want to fly."

A larger-than-life personality, Sapp was a dominant defensive tackle for Tampa Bay, helping turn around the fortunes of a moribund franchise while collecting 96.5 sacks. He was named to the N.F.L.'s All-Decade team for both the 1990s and the 2000s, a feat also accomplished by Allen.

The two senior candidates, Curley Culp and Dave Robinson, were not part of the broadcast, but their careers were just as impressive as the modern candidates. Culp, a defensive star for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Oilers, was a six-time Pro Bowler and was the 1975 Defensive Player of the Year. Robinson, a member of Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers, was a first-team All-N.F.L. player three times and was named to the N.F.L.'s All-Decade team of the 1960s.

For Strahan, the only first-time finalist who did not get in, enshrinement will have to wait another year despite his holding the single-season sacks record, and leading the Giants to one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, the 17-14 defeat of the New England Patriots on Feb. 3, 2008. Also not making the cut were the former owners of both of the franchises set to face off in Sunday's Super Bowl, with neither Edward DeBartolo Jr. of the San Francisco 49ers nor Art Modell of the Ravens making it in.

The seven new Hall of Famers will be officially inducted Aug. 3.