The football world was taken aback earlier this week when reports indicated that Bill Belichick would not be inducted into […]
The football world was taken aback earlier this week when reports indicated that Bill Belichick would not be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot. We may now know just how close the legendary coach came to being a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote a column detailing the voting committee’s process and trying to defend the voters in general. In the column, Dulac mentioned that according to a published report, Belichick received 39 of the necessary 40 votes.
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Belichick was among five candidates under consideration, along with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, former players Ken Anderson and Roger Craig, and defensive end L.C. Greenwood. What remains unclear is the specific rationale for why at least 11 voters opted not to support Belichick’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
A few of the voters who didn’t give their support or Belichick explained why. Mike Chappell of FOX59/CBS4 explained in a column that he did not vote for the former Patriots coach, choosing instead to vote for Kraft and two senior candidates who could soon fall off the ballot. In his view, rather than using his vote on someone he perceived as guaranteed to be inducted, he wanted to support those whose windows of eligibility were closing.
Vahe Gregorian of The Kansas City Star also didn’t vote for Belichick, likewise dedicating a column to explain his rationale. The longtime NFL reporter said he felt duty-bound to vote for Craig, L.C. Greenwood, and Ken Anderson. Again, there was an assumption that Belichick would be inducted regardless of his vote.
The rationale from both voters speaks to an obvious flaw in the voting process, where members of the committee decide to use their three votes on less-deserving candidates instead of obvious picks and rationalize the decision by telling themselves the better candidate will be inducted anyway.
In the long term, Belichick might wind up benefiting from the move. He did not have the most favorable public reputation before the vote was announced, but being kept out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame resulted in almost universal criticism of the voters and an outpouring of support for him.
With that said, for a football lifer, not being part of the select few members of the NFL family inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in their first year on the ballot will feel very personal for Belichick. Even if he is inducted next year, that sting could last for a while.
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