Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers has officially announced his retirement from football. His former head coach John Fox has no doubt about his status as a Hall of Famer.

Peppers has finally decided to hang up his cleats following an illustrious 17-year NFL career. According to ESPN's David Newton, Fox attributes his tenure as a head coach to having a first-ballot Hall of Famer on his team:

“He was a big reason I got to be a head coach as long as I got to. Decisions like that keep you around. There's no doubt in my mind he'll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.”

There is certainly plenty of truth to Fox's comments. He took some flak for selecting Peppers with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft. There was plenty of speculation regarding how well his skill set as a dual-sport athlete in college would translate to the NFL. Fortunately, the decision ultimately worked out.

There is good reason for Fox to be confident in his Peppers candidacy. He has all the credentials of a first ballot Hall of Famer after being named an All-Pro six times while earning nine trips to the Pro Bowl. Fox got to witness his greatness in person as the head coach for Carolina during Peppers first stretch with the team.

More importantly, Peppers has firmly etched out a place for himself in NFL history. His 159.5 career sacks rank fourth all-time, and he also joined Reggie White, who also played for the Panthers, as the only players to have sacked 77 different quarterbacks. It is safe to say that he will be making a stop in Canton five years from now.