Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft are back in the mix for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and both are moving through the Class of 2027 selection process once again.
Belichick is one of five coaches under consideration, joined by Tom Coughlin, Mike Holmgren, Dan Reeves, and Mike Shanahan. The former Patriots coach won six Super Bowls in New England and remains the winningest coach in Super Bowl history, while also sitting second on the all-time coaching wins list.
Kraft is among five candidates in the contributor category, alongside former Canton Bulldogs owner Ralph Hay, former Bears owner Virginia Halas McCaskey, former Commanders quarterback and front office member Doug Williams, and Fritz-Pollard alliance chairman John Wooten. The Patriots owner has been a semifinalist 13 times and reached the final round for the first time last season.
The Hall’s process looks different this year after the backlash that followed Belichick’s omission a year ago. Last year, contributors, coaches, and senior players were all grouped together, and San Francisco 49ers running back Roger Craig, a senior player, got the nod over Kraft, Belichick, and other finalists.
Now the senior player category has been eliminated, and the coach and contributor groups have been split apart. That leaves 15 finalists in a given year: 13 players, one coach, and one contributor who will appear on the ballot.
From that group, between three and seven will be inducted. To get in, a candidate needs 80 percent of the vote from the 25-person selection committee.
The coach and contributor subcommittees will each choose one finalist from their respective groups. The 2027 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class will be revealed during “NFL Honors” in Los Angeles this upcoming February, with the enshrinement ceremony scheduled for August in Canton, Ohio.
Kraft, 85, is recovering from recent back surgery and will miss Rob Gronkowki’s induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame this Saturday.
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So far, the transition has mostly held together. The group has avoided giving up a touchdown, but there have been some issues in kick coverage, which has kept the attention on a phase that usually flies under the radar unless something goes wrong. For the Patriots, the bigger picture is still about developing a young special teams roster while trying to keep the operation steady enough to avoid the kind of hidden-yardage problems that can swing a game. [Read more 🡒]
Belichicks Hall Of Fame Push Just Got Real For Patriots Fans
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The Halls coaching subcommittee trimmed the field from a larger pool before settling on this group, and only one coach will ultimately make the final class. The Class of 2027 will be announced in February and enshrined in August in Canton, Ohio, leaving Belichicks place in that conversation very much alive as the selection process moves toward its next step. [Read more 🡒]
DeMario Douglas Is Making Patriots Free Agency Much Harder
DeMario Douglas has quietly turned a late-season opportunity into a real case for the Patriots to think harder about their future at receiver. With injuries thinning out the position, Douglas has been asked to do more, and he has responded with a level of production and reliability that makes him stand out on a roster still searching for answers in the passing game.
The timing only adds to the intrigue because Douglas is headed for unrestricted free agency after the season. For a team that needs dependable pass-catchers and has watched its receiving room get stretched thin, his recent surge is the kind of development that can complicate everything from roster planning to contract talks, especially if this version of Douglas proves to be the one New England is getting going forward. [Read more 🡒]