The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s latest omissions have stirred up more than just a few raised eyebrows - and Kirk Herbstreit is right there with the rest of us, calling it what it is: “ridiculous.”
With Super Bowl LX just days away, the buzz isn’t only about who’s taking the field - it’s also about who isn’t getting their due in Canton. Specifically, Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft.
Two of the central architects of the New England Patriots’ two-decade dynasty, left on the outside looking in. And for Herbstreit - like many around the league - the decision doesn’t just feel puzzling.
It feels personal.
“You get the best coach to ever do it, one of the best owners to ever do it,” Herbstreit said in a recent interview. “I don’t know.
Is this punishment for Spygate? For Deflategate?
That’s the only thing I can think of.”
And he’s not alone in wondering if off-field controversies are clouding what should be a clear-cut football decision. Reports suggest former Colts executive Bill Polian may have played a role in the snub, and if that’s true, it raises even more questions about whether this was about resumes or rivalries.
Let’s be clear: Belichick and Kraft weren’t just successful - they were dominant. Under their leadership, the Patriots won six Super Bowls and made nine appearances.
From 2001 to 2019, they captured the AFC East title 17 times in 19 seasons. That’s not just sustained success - that’s a stranglehold on a division.
During that stretch, New England went 141-30 against AFC East opponents. That’s an .824 winning percentage.
In the NFL, where parity is the norm, that kind of consistency is almost unheard of.
“Think about how long that went on,” Herbstreit said. “You’re talking 20 years of dominance.”
The analyst, who’s spent decades covering both college and pro football, didn’t hesitate to put Belichick and Kraft in elite historical company - mentioning Bill Walsh, Chuck Noll, and Tom Landry - but ultimately made it clear: in his eyes, Belichick and Kraft are the best to ever do it.
And yet, here we are. No gold jackets.
No busts. At least not yet.
Herbstreit believes the Hall will eventually correct course - and it’s hard to imagine it won’t. But the fact that it didn’t happen on the first ballot?
That’s what has people talking. Not just fans, but insiders, analysts, and former players alike.
“I know they’ll eventually get in,” Herbstreit said. “But to me, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense why they’ve been left out.”
It’s a sentiment that echoes across the league right now. The Patriots’ dynasty didn’t just define an era - it reshaped the NFL. And the two men at the center of it are still waiting for the recognition that, by nearly every football metric imaginable, they’ve already earned.
If this is a message from the Hall, it’s a confusing one. Because for a league that prides itself on honoring greatness, leaving out two of the most influential figures of the modern era feels like a glaring omission. And until that changes, the debate isn’t going anywhere.