Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham of ESPN report that former Patriots HC Bill Belichick will not be a first-ballot Hall of Famer as many assumed he’d be.
According to ESPN, Belichick fell short of the 40 out of 50 votes needed for induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame during his first year of eligibility.
The Hall of Fame reportedly called Belichick last Friday to inform him of the news.
Sources who spoke with ESPN said they are “puzzled” and “disappointed” by his inability to secure support from at least 80% of Hall committee members.
“Politics kept him out. He doesn’t believe this is a reflection on his accomplishments,” a source told ESPN.
A voter told ESPN said that Bill Polian told some voters he believed Belichick should “wait a year” before induction as “penance” for the Spygate scandal from 2007.
“The only explanation [for the outcome] was the cheating stuff,” a veteran Hall voter told ESPN on Tuesday. “It really bothered some of the guys.”
Belichick, 73, got his start coaching in the NFL in 1975 with the then-Baltimore Colts. He had assistant jobs with the Lions and Broncos before landing with the Giants, where he eventually rose to defensive coordinator under legendary HC Bill Parcells.
The Browns hired Belichick as head coach in 1991, and he was in the post for five years before being fired. He rejoined Parcells as an assistant with the Patriots and left to go with him to the Jets the following year.
He was slated to replace Parcells as head coach of the Jets in 2000, but infamously resigned and was hired by the Patriots, who had to give up a first-round pick to the Jets as compensation. Belichick won six Super Bowls in 24 years in New England before being let go at the end of the 2023 season.
Belichick chose to pursue a move to college football and was hired as the head coach at North Carolina heading into the 2025 season.
For his career, Belichick has a record of 302-163 over 29 seasons (.655 W/L percentage) and has eight Super Bowl rings, six of them as head coach of the Patriots. He’s a three-time winner of the AP Coach of the Year award.
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