Bill Belichick won six Super Bowls as a head coach, two more as an assistant and is considered by some to be the greatest coach in football history. Even those who disagree cannot in good faith contend that he’s not the most accomplished coach in the history of the game.
On Tuesday, news broke that his résumé is not good enough to earn Belichick induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first ballot.
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This is according to ESPN, which reported Belichick fell short of the 40-vote threshold (out of a possible 50) required for induction to the Hall. Per the report, Belichick received the bad news directly from the Hall on Friday.
‘Don’t even understand how this could be possible’
Belichick has not responded to the news in public, but proclaimed, “Six Super Bowls isn’t enough?” when he heard the news, according to the report. And he had plenty of high-profile support in his corner on Tuesday with reactions from peers and rivals ranging from dismay, outrage and shock that Belichick didn’t make the Hall on his first ballot.
Patrick Mahomes, whose Kansas City Chiefs were Belichick’s biggest rival at the end of his New England Patriots tenure, called the news “insane.”
Hall of Fame former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson had choice words for the voters who did not vote for Belichick.
Retired 3-time Defensive Player of the Year and future Hall of Famer JJ Watt couldn’t believe his eyes.
Ryan Clark, who played for New England’s rival Pittsburgh Steelers during Belichick’s reign, wrote that the decision disqualifies any future coach from entering the Hall on his first ballot.
Former Patriots Julian Edelman and Jason McCourty, both of whom won Super Bowls with Belichick, weighed in.
Other players, NFL executives, reporters, media personalities and longtime Hall of Fame voters were among the others to express their dismay at the news.
In case you have trouble reading the above tweet, that’s venerated NFL reporter and 32-year Hall of Fame voter Peter King responding to the ESPN report:
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“Holy f***! … I’m very, very surprised,” King said, per ESPN.
LeBron James weighed in from the basketball world.
Hall of Fame voter Mike Sando wrote that he considered Belichick to be a “slam-dunk” candidate, but offered an explanation of newly enacted voting rules that may have impacted Belichick’s first-ballot candidacy.
Regardless, people wanted to know as soon as the news broke who didn’t vote for Belichick. And why? Who did and didn’t vote for Belichick was not clear from the report.
As for the why? It’s not like coaches don’t make it on the their first ballot. It’s rare, but Tom Landry, Don Shula and Chuck Noll all made it on their first ballot in classes that weren’t the Hall’s inaugural. Belichick certainly stands alongside and arguably above those coaches in the annals of NFL history.
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Did scandals cost Belichick?
During and since his tenure with the Patriots, Belichick has generated his share of unflattering headlines. His name is tied to a pair of scandals — Spygate and Deflategate — whose respective egregiousness depends on the eyes of the beholder.
Per ESPN, this was enough to compel former rival executive Bill Polian (Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills) to launch a campaign among voters that Belichick should “wait a year.” Polian is a Hall of Fame voter. Polian denied the report in an interview with Sports Illustrated Tuesday, declaring that he voted for Belichick.
Polian later backtracked on that claim in an interview with ESPN, telling the reporters who initially broke the news that he didn’t remember with certainty whether or not he voted for Belichick.
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Here’s what Polian said, per Don Van Natta’s and Seth Wickersham’s words:
In an interview with ESPN on Tuesday night, Polian denied telling fellow voters that Belichick should serve a one-year penance for Spygate. But he said he heard his fellow voters “float that idea” but he insisted he didn’t agree or disagree with the proposal.
Polian said he voted for Kraft and even spoke up on his behalf during the deliberations, saying Kraft had no knowledge of the Spygate scheme. Polian added that he could not remember with 100% certainty if he voted for Belichick, saying he was 95% sure he voted for the coach and a player, “most likely” L.C. Greenwood.
Belichick’s post-Patriots tenure as the head coach of North Carolina can be aptly described as embarrassing on multiple levels. But again, the guy won eight total Super Bowls, and this is the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His UNC tenure is not relevant here.
Until and unless voters explain themselves, the reason for Belichick’s snub will remain a mystery.
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