Why Did Bill Belichick, Patriots Legend, Shockingly Miss the Hall of Fame? Inside the Controversial Voting Process

Bill Belichick’s name is etched deep into the annals of NFL history—racking up more Super Bowl rings than any other coach, dominating in playoff victories, and owning the record books when it comes to division titles, playoff showdowns, and conference crowns. Yet, despite this staggering résumé, the latest Hall of Fame vote left many scratching their heads. We found out just this Tuesday that even those six Super Bowls and a legacy of wins don’t guarantee a first-ballot invite to Canton. It’s a twist that’s stunned fans and football giants alike, sparking debates that go far beyond the gridiron. The question now: what tangled web of voting rules and committee deliberations could have led to this bewildering snub? Let’s unpack the mechanics behind Hall of Fame selections—the maze of choices, the recent procedural tweaks, and the whispers of controversial votes. Trust me, it’s far more labyrinthine than you’d imagine. LEARN MORE

Bill Belichick is the NFL’s all-time leader in Super Bowl titles among coaches. He is the NFL’s all-time leader in playoff wins. He is the NFL’s all-time leader in division titles, playoff appearances and conference championships. He is third all-time on the regular-season wins list.

We learned on Tuesday that’s not enough to guarantee you enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Some of football’s biggest names are as shocked as you are.

Overall, Belichick falling short of the Hall of Fame says a lot more about the Hall of Fame than it does about Belichick’s legacy. An often opaque process has resulted in one of the most baffling results in the history of sport hall of fames, in which the coach with the NFL’s most-loaded résumé has been told he doesn’t warrant a bust in Canton. At least, not yet.

So, how did this happen? To answer that, let’s dive into how Hall of Fame voting actually works. We’ll warn you right now: It’s complicated.

Let’s start with the basics.

Hall of Fame enshrinement is entirely controlled by Canton’s selection committee, a 50-person panel of media members all selected by the Hall’s board of directors and appointed to two-year terms. This year’s group is listed at the bottom of this article.

Every team’s media contingent gets a representative, as does the Pro Football Writers of America organization. The final 17 spots are filled by at-large contributors, often veteran media members and people with actual experience playing and coaching in the NFL such as Tony Dungy, Bill Polian and Dan Fouts. At least by background, it’s a diverse group. Some of the biggest outlets and broadcasted are represented, such as ESPN, but there are also reporters working for newspapers, team sites and independent outlets.

To be enshrined, every candidate must receive at least 80% approval from this voting body, which usually means 40 votes. However, if not enough candidates receive 80% approval, the list is shortened until the Hall has its required four enshrinees.

How are these votes held?

The selection committee meets annually, not long before the Super Bowl, to discuss every candidate and put them up to a vote. All Hall of Fame cases, including Belichick’s, come down to these conversations.

Before that, though, there’s a lengthy process of narrowing down an enormous list of potential names. Officially, any fan can nominate a player or coach by writing to the Hall of Fame. In practice, the construction of the list is determined by the selection committee, with preliminary lists compiled over the course of the summer.

By October, there’s a list of 25 or 26 semifinalists. By December, there are 15 finalists. That’s just modern-era players, though.

For coaches, as well as contributors and “seniors,” there is a blue-ribbon committee, compiled from nine members of the 50-person voting body. That group is charged with selecting one coach to nominate each year.

This year, they obviously chose Belichick.

This process changed recently

In 2024, the Hall of Fame made a number of changes to this process. Most notably, it separated out that specific coaching category. Before, coaches had to compete with NFL owners and executives for consideration in the contributor category. That’s why there is always one coach now.

Also, the Hall made it so coaches only had to wait one year after retirement to be eligible. It was thought at the time that would mean quicker enshrinement for Belichick.

OK, so what happened with this vote?

That’s even more complicated!

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 22: Bill Belichick of the North Carolina Tar Heels looks on before the first half of the game against the Duke Blue Devils at Kenan Memorial Stadium on November 22, 2025 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Jaylynn Nash/Getty Images) — Bill Belichick isn’t a Hall-of-Famer. The reason why is needlessly complicated. (Photo by Jaylynn Nash/Getty Images)

(Jaylynn Nash via Getty Images)

As voter Mike Sando laid out, the process of deciding whether or not a coach should be in the Hall of Fame is even more complex than the above mechanics. In actuality, Belichick was competing with the other nominees from the blue-ribbon committee categories of contributors and seniors.

This year, those were Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and L.C. Greenwood — the senior players up for consideration — and, in an incredible twist of fate, Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

So, that’s five guys looking for 80% approval among 50 people. However, that voting body has to select at least one of them or, more importantly, at most three of them, leaving each voter to select up to three of those five, which means at least one of those guys made it in over Belichick.

That creates some fun possibilities here.

Possibility No. 1: A bunch of people assumed Belichick was already in

Let’s say you’re a voter who really likes Craig. Or Greenwood. You want them to get in, and you assume there’s no possible world in which Belichick doesn’t make it.

So you vote for your guy(s) and leave the Belichick voting for everyone else. This happens in voting for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, where a 10-player maximum on ballots causes some voters to sometimes leave off slam-dunk candidates to support guys they think should receive more attention.

Possibility No. 2: Some people cared more about the seniors than Belichick

Here’s another way to rationalize voting for Belichick: You don’t know when Craig is going to be on the ballot again, so you really want him to make it now. You also know that if Belichick doesn’t make this year, he’s certain to be back next year, because he’s Belichick.

Therefore, maybe its better if you vote for Craig now and Belichick later, though that isn’t great for the guys Belichick will be competing with next year. Or you just think players are more important than coaches.

Possibility No. 3: They’re punishing the cheater

Here’s the theory that came with ESPN’s report, which cited one anonymous voter who claimed that Polian, who butted heads with Belichick as general manager of the Indianapolis Colts, told some voters he believed Belichick should wait a year for induction as a penalty for the Spygate and Deflategate scandals that went down under his watch.

Polian has since denied the claim, reportedly calling it “totally and categorically untrue” and saying he voted in favor of Belichick. Still, it seems entirely possible that other voters held the cheating scandals against Belichick.

The best comparison for that situation is probably former MLB outfielder Carlos Beltran, who was voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame this month. When Beltran retired, many observers believed he had a case to make it in one his first ballot. However, his role as one of the ringleaders in the 2017 Houston Astros cheating scandal clearly had an effect on his candidacy, and resulted in him having to wait until his fourth ballot to reach Cooperstown.

Are any of these good reasons to vote against Bill Belichick?

Absolutely not!

When it comes to cheating, Belichick and the Patriots were already investigated and publicly punished by the NFL. It’s hard to imagine anyone asked for a mysterious group of voters to dispense additional justice with a one-year enshrinement delay.

And judging from the account of one voter in the room, Belichick’s opponents were quiet enough that it didn’t feel like he was facing an uphill battle to enshrinement.

If you want to hold this stuff against Belichick, fine. Then make your case, to your fellow voters and to the public. The latter might still happen, as the vote has not been officially revealed.

Hiding behind an anonymous vote to secretly punish a guy disconnects the offense from the consequence in a way that teaches the world nothing and gives the “defendant” and his supporters zero opportunity to make his case. When baseball players are excluded from the Hall of Fame because they took steroids, the reporters voting against them often own it and write about it. We understand why Barry Bonds isn’t in the Hall of Fame, because the voters told us.

Doing it behind closed doors instead only invites confusion, anger at your colleagues and the possibility of more voters taking it upon themselves to quietly patrol the outskirts of Canton.

As for Possibilities No. 1 and 2, let’s just say it plainly: You should vote for the guys you think most belong in the Hall of Fame. Trying to game the system like that opens the door for some supremely wacky outcomes, such as today.

Does this process need changing?

Does any of the above make sense to you? No? Then probably!

At the end of the day, we’re seeing the result of the Hall ensuring it’s celebrating between four and eight people every year. It wants players people care about supplemented with the coaches, executives, owners and other luminaries that make the game great.

Making sure a coach makes it every year won’t the solution, nor was the old process much better. At the very least, transparency would be a welcome addition to this multi-faceted tug o’ war.

Do we know which voters voted for or against Belichick?

As of Tuesday evening, none of the 50 voters have come forward about voting against Belichick. However, some have come forward to make clear this isn’t on them.

I’m a HOF voter who saw Belichick as slam-dunk. I don’t know anything about voting results, but if this is true, and we’ll find out officially next week, the question is, how could this happen?

Before I list possibilities, understand this:

Belichick, Kraft, Craig, Anderson &… https://t.co/V8okBDsReH

— Mike Sando (@SandoNFL) January 27, 2026

I presented Bill Belichick in the coach sub-committee meeting that moved him forward to the full committee, and I presented him to the full committee.

I am stunned, disappointed, and disagree deeply with the at least 11 selectors who didn’t vote for him for the HOF Class of 2026

— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) January 27, 2026

As a member of the board of selectors for the @ProFootballHOF, I can’t believe Bill Belichick was not a first-ballot inductee. He had my vote and will again next year, assuming we both are still in the process.

— Dan Pompei (@danpompei) January 28, 2026

As a @ProFootballHOF voter, I believe in full transparency: I voted for Bill Belichick and I am embarrassed for our 50-member committee that the greatest coach in NFL history is not a first ballot HOFer and some voters apparently felt he deserved to be punished for Spygate.

— Gary Myers (@GaryMyersNY) January 28, 2026

Some excellent perspective here from Mike, who explains how this might have happened. I’m also a HOF voter and, for the record, I voted for Belichick. https://t.co/DpKlgCg1v7

— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) January 28, 2026

Yes, three years in a row the coach hasn’t gotten in. Again, I believe there are some who believe the players are more important to the game than any coach, even Belichick, and will always vote for the three seniors. I am not one who believes this. I voted for Belichick. https://t.co/r7QVtfcnc7

— Charean Williams (@NFLCharean) January 28, 2026

I just spoke on the phone with Bill Polian and asked whether he was an influence on Bill Belichick being snubbed by the Hall of Fame. His quote:

“That’s totally and categorically untrue. I voted for him.”

— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) January 27, 2026