Belichick tells – Bill Belichick, head coach at the University of North Carolina, says he “didn’t have a say” in being left out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility and says voters must explain the decision.
Bill Belichick has already moved on to the next season. He’s coaching at the University of North Carolina now, focused on his players and the program there.
But the Pro Football Hall of Fame is still very much on his mind.
When asked Tuesday about being left out of the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, Belichick offered an answer that sounded less like acceptance and more like resignation—“You’d have to ask the voters. I didn’t have a say in it.”
Belichick will be up again for induction in 2027. Still, the moment came earlier this year, after he wasn’t named to the Hall of Fame on his first attempt.
His track record is impossible to miss: he won eight total Super Bowls as a coach—six with the New England Patriots and two with the New York Giants. where he served as a defensive coordinator. Yet the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s selection committee did not give him enough support to reach Canton this time. He did not receive 40 of 50 necessary votes from the selection committee. The committee’s voting results were not made public.
Belichick. appearing on Fox News Media’s “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” on Tuesday. said the decision was out of his hands. “Well, it’s out of my control,” he said. “And honestly. I’ve been very focused on my job at the University of North Carolina and the players and the university there. So, you know, whatever happens, happens. But I’m proud of what we accomplished as teams at New England and certainly at the Giants. and proud of those relationships. So that’s what matters most.”.
He also said he understood the noise around the snub without getting pulled into arguing the vote itself. Multiple figures across sports reacted to the omission, including Patrick Mahomes, LeBron James, J.J. Watt, and others.
Even among people who know Belichick best, the reaction was raw. Former Patriots players voiced confusion, especially Tom Brady.
Brady. who spoke earlier this year during an appearance on the Seattle sports radio show “Brock & Salk. ” said he didn’t understand the decision. “I don’t understand it. I was with him every day,” Brady said. “If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer then there’s really no coach that should ever be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. which is completely ridiculous because people deserve it.”.
Brady added that if someone asked him to choose a coach to win a Super Bowl, he’d pick Belichick. “He’s incredible, there’s no coach I’d rather play for. If I’m picking one coach to go out there and win a Super Bowl. give me one season. I’m taking Bill Belichick. ” Brady said. “So, that’s enough said. Outside of that. when you come down to votes and popularity and all that. then welcome to the world of voting. You may as well go try out for the Oscars or whatever and get a big panel to tell you whether you’re good or not.”.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft also criticized the Hall of Fame process in January. speaking publicly amid Belichick’s failure to earn a spot in the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026. Kraft said that whatever personal friction might exist, the football body of work should speak for itself. “Whatever perceptions may exist about any personal differences between Bill and me. I strongly believe Bill Belichick’s record and body of work speak for themselves. ” Kraft said. “As head coach of the New England Patriots for more than two decades. he set the standard for on-field excellence. preparation. and sustained success in the free agency and salary cap era of the National Football League.”.
Kraft went further, calling Belichick the standard by which the league evaluates greatness. “He is the greatest coach of all time and he unequivocally deserves to be a unanimous first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer.”
Back on Hannity Tuesday, Belichick didn’t dispute any of the praise—or the frustration. He said he was grateful for the support that has poured in over the last few months from many different circles, not just football.
“It’s great to hear that support from so many people and from so many different fields, not just football, but many others,” Belichick said. “And so, I was very appreciative of that support and the positive comments that they made.”
When the conversation turned to the why behind the vote, Belichick kept it simple. He wouldn’t speculate about rationale, and he didn’t try to translate the committee’s decision into his own narrative.
“You’d have to ask the voters. I didn’t have a say in it. So. you know. it was part of the Hall of Fame voting in 2019 on the 100-year anniversary of the NFL and that type of thing. but that’s different from what happened this time. So I don’t know—you’d have to talk to the voters. Some of them said whatever their opinion is, I’ll let them talk about it.”.
For Belichick, the next deadline is 2027. For the Hall of Fame. the unanswered question is the same one that has fueled reactions from Brady to Kraft: how the numbers—40 of 50 votes. and the committee’s decision-making kept private—can leave one of the NFL’s defining figures standing just outside Canton.
Bill Belichick Pro Football Hall of Fame Canton Hall of Fame snub University of North Carolina Tom Brady Robert Kraft Patrick Mahomes LeBron James J.J. Watt