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Bill Polian’s Lifelong Feud With The Patriots Has Finally Boiled Over

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Bill Belichick Will Not Be A First-Ballot Hall of Fame Inductee

The entire football world was shocked to hear the news that former New England Patriots’ head coach, Bill Belichick, was not named a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee. In order to be inducted, a candidate must receive at least 40 out of a total of 50 votes. Evidently, Belichick fell short of the 40 votes needed. Many people took to social media to express their surprise at the news that a guy who is arguably the greatest coach in the history of the NFL did not receive the necessary votes.

Current and future Hall of Fame inductees, including JJ Watt, Jimmy Johnson, Tom Brady, and many more, have all let their displeasure with the voters’ decision be known.

The outrage spanned beyond the NFL world as well. LeBron James also shared his thoughts on the news as well.

Bill Polian’s Role In The Decision

The people on social media who disagreed with the voters’ decision all had one question in mind. Who are the voters responsible for this decision? It was very quickly reported that former Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers, and Buffalo Bills general manager, Bill Polian, led the charge against Belichick being a first-ballot inductee. Polian reportedly stated that Belichick should be forced to wait a year because of Spygate.

Spygate refers to the cheating scandal involving the Patriots back in 2007. The Patriots were caught videotaping a New York Jets practice with the intent of understanding their defensive call signs. The ensuing investigation resulted in the Patriots forfeiting a draft pick, a $250,000 fine for the team, and a $500,000 fine for Belichick. To this day, that $500,000 is still the most a coach has ever personally been fined. In the eyes of Bill Polian, these penalties were not quite proportional.

Following the news, Matt Verderame of Sports Illustrated reported that he spoke with Polian directly. He said he asked Polian if he was an influence on the decision, to which Polian responded, “That’s totally and categorically untrue. I voted for him.”

From there, the plot continued to thicken. In an interview with ESPN, Polian maintained that he was not influential in the final vote. However, he could not say with 100% certainty that he remembers voting for him. The inconsistencies in his statements, coupled with Polian’s long-storied rivalry with New England, led many to question his original response.

Polian Vs. The New England Patriots

To understand why people are so quick to believe that Bill Polian was a leading voice in the decision, you need to understand his history with the Patriots. During Polian’s tenure as the general manager of the Indianapolis Colts from 1998 to 2011, the team had a record of 6-10 against the Brady/Belichick Patriots. That timeframe was the height of the Patriots vs Colts rivalry, where we saw the quarterback duel between two of the greatest to ever play the sport. The Patriots and Colts were transparent in their disdain for each other throughout the 2000s. Players, coaches, and fans all shared that same feeling. Decades later, that feeling remains the same. The losses hurt Polian so much that he was convinced the Patriots were constantly cheating and was the leading voice of the “Ty Law Rule” in 2003 in efforts to sway defenders away from defensive holding penalties.

Reaction To The Vote

It’s truly a shame that Bill Belichick will not be recognized as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He has the most illustrious resume of any coach in the history of the league and is in the conversation for the greatest coach of all time. In his career, Belichick won six Super Bowls as a head coach, two more as an assistant coach, 31 playoff wins, and 302 regular-season wins. To put that into perspective, he’s #1 in Super Bowl wins, #1 in playoff wins, and #3 in regular season wins. Here’s how his career stacks up with every other first-ballot coach.

In terms of career achievements, there is nobody more deserving. However, the rationale behind his not receiving the prerequisite votes was not his success; it was how he achieved that success. If that is the standard, why does it only apply to Belichick? Why is this the person that want to make an example of? There are plenty of other current Hall of Fame inductees who have had their integrity questioned. Bill Polian, the man allegedly leading the charge against Belichick, falls into that category.

I want to be clear. I am not trying to tear down the legacy of those who have been fortunate enough to be recognized as Hall of Fame inductees. That is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon anyone in the NFL world. Those people worked extremely hard and deserve their spot in the history of the league. My issue is not with the Hall of Fame itself; it’s the voting process and those who hold the responsibility of voting.

The job of the voters is to determine who is deserving of the Hall of Fame. They are not the morality police. The voters are not members of the league, and it is not their job to enforce the integrity of the league. If that were a factor in their decision-making process, they’ve already missed the mark on past inductees. The 10+ people who voted against him were objectively wrong. I challenge anybody to find 20% of any sample size of people who follow the NFL that truly believe Belichick is not first-ballot worthy.

I believe Polian was influential in this decision. He spent the majority of a decade getting his teeth kicked in by Bill Belichick and the Patriots. He subsequently complained about the Patriots having unfair advantages through loopholes in the rulebook or not abiding by the rules. In his final act, he may have gotten rules changed because of Belichick one last time.