Bill Belichick Left Out of Hall of Fame in First Year of Eligibility - And the NFL World Is Stunned
Bill Belichick, the architect behind the New England Patriots' two-decade dynasty and the winningest Super Bowl coach in NFL history, didn’t make the cut for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. And yes, you read that right.
The Hall of Fame’s 50-member selection panel passed on Belichick during this cycle, a move that sent shockwaves through the football world. Six Super Bowl titles.
Nine AFC Championships. A career record of 333-178.
Second all-time in coaching wins, behind only Don Shula. And still, no gold jacket - at least not yet.
The decision left many in and around the league scratching their heads, and in some cases, outright furious. Michael Lombardi, North Carolina’s football GM and a longtime Belichick confidant, didn’t mince words. He called the snub “a complete injustice,” pointing to flaws in the voting process and pushing for a more objective, criteria-based system to avoid what he sees as politics clouding the Hall’s integrity.
Belichick, now the head coach at North Carolina after a legendary NFL run that included stints with the Browns and Patriots, was the lone coaching candidate up for enshrinement this year. The selection process allows each voter to choose up to three finalists, but the math gets tricky fast - 150 total votes are in play, and it’s possible for none of the candidates to reach the threshold if votes are too spread out.
That may be exactly what happened here. According to Hall of Fame voter Mike Sando, several factors could’ve chipped away at Belichick’s support.
Some voters might’ve assumed he was a lock and focused on backing other candidates. Others may have wanted to prioritize senior players or were protesting the recent rule change that made coaches eligible just one year after retiring, rather than the traditional five.
And then there’s the elephant in the room: the Patriots’ cheating scandals.
During deliberations, ESPN reported that both the 2007 Spygate incident and the Deflategate controversy were brought up. Bill Polian - a respected former GM and member of the voting panel - reportedly told others that Belichick should “wait a year” because of the spying scandal. Polian later clarified that he was 95% sure he voted for Belichick and denied organizing any effort to block his induction.
Still, the damage was done. And the reaction from players past and present was swift and loud.
Patrick Mahomes summed it up in one word: “Insane.”
JJ Watt, never one to shy away from speaking his mind, couldn’t believe it either. “This has to be some knock-off Hall of Fame or something,” he wrote. “There is not a single world whatsoever in which Bill Belichick should not be a First-Ballot Hall of Famer.”
Even LeBron James chimed in, echoing the disbelief spreading across the sports world.
And then there’s longtime NFL reporter and Hall of Fame voter John McClain, who didn’t hide his frustration: “The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter what the Hall of Fame’s voting process is: Bill Belichick should have been a no-brainer, unanimous, first-ballot inductee. We have no excuses for excluding him.”
Belichick’s resume speaks for itself. Beyond the six rings in New England, he was also the defensive mastermind behind two Giants Super Bowl wins in the 1980s.
His ability to adapt, innovate, and outmaneuver opponents became the gold standard for NFL coaching. And while his methods weren’t always universally admired, his results were undeniable.
Now at the helm of North Carolina’s football program, Belichick is in uncharted territory - coaching at the college level for the first time. His debut season in Chapel Hill ended with a 4-8 record, but his presence alone has already elevated the program’s visibility in ways few could’ve imagined.
Whether this Hall of Fame snub is just a one-year delay or a sign of deeper resistance within the selection committee remains to be seen. But one thing’s for sure: Bill Belichick’s absence from Canton this year isn’t sitting well with a lot of people - and it’s hard to blame them.