Six-time Super Bowl champion head coach Bill Belichick has been snubbed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, according to a report from ESPN.
Citing four unidentified sources, ESPN reported on Tuesday that Belichick didn’t receive the necessary 40 votes from the 50-person panel of media members and other Hall of Famers. ESPN said Belichick received a call from the Hall of Fame last Friday with the news.
The Hall of Fame declined to comment before its class of 2026 is announced at NFL Honors in San Francisco on 5 February.
The report of Belichick’s snub was met with significant criticism and shock considering he is widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches of all time. Critics of the snub include Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who posted on social media: “Insane … don’t even understand how this could be possible.”
Three-time NFL defensive player of the year JJ Watt also expressed his shock. “This has to be some knock-off Hall of Fame or something, it can’t be the actual NFL Hall of Fame,” he wrote on social media. “There is not a single world whatsoever in which Bill Belichick should not be a First-Ballot Hall of Famer.”
The surprise extended outside the world of football. LeBron James was incensed by the report. “Man there’s no way I read that right! Right? Ain’t no WAY Bill Belichick ain’t 1st Ballot HOF!! That’s IMPOSSIBLE, EGREGIOUS, and quite frankly DISRESPECTFUL!” the Lakers star wrote on social media.
Belichick was hired by New England in 2000 and led the franchise to six Super Bowl wins and three other appearances in the title game during an 18-year span from 2001-18. Belichick’s 333 wins in the regular season and playoffs with New England and Cleveland are the second most to Don Shula’s 347. He won AP NFL Coach of the Year three times.
Belichick also was one of the game’s top defensive assistants before taking over in New England, winning two earlier Super Bowls as defensive coordinator for the New York Giants.
Belichick’s career did have blemishes. He was implicated in a sign-stealing scandal dubbed “Spygate” in the 2007 season and was fined $500,000 after the team was caught filming defensive signals from the New York Jets during a game.
Belichick’s tenure in New England ended following the 2023 season. He has just finished his first year coaching in college at North Carolina.
Belichick was one of five finalists among senior players who last appeared in a game in 2000 or earlier, coaches and contributors. Patriots owner Robert Kraft was the contributor finalist, with Roger Craig, Ken Anderson and LC Greenwood the players.
Between one and three of those finalists will be inducted into the Hall along with between three and five modern-era players from a group of 15 finalists.
