On Jan. 27, 2026, the football world across social media was shocked to hear that New England Patriots legendary Head Coach Bill Belichick did not get enough votes to be inducted into the first Pro Football Hall Of Fame. However, fans, players, and coaches around the league believe that there was a voter bias.
Belichick was a part of the infamous Deflategate and Spygate. The Deflategate was when the Patriots were accused of deflating balls intentionally, and the Spygate was when the Patriots were accused of videotaping the Jets’ defensive signals. This has led many to believe that the voters took this into play when discussing their decision on Belichick.
However, even if Belichick was a part of the infamous scandals, his resume speaks for itself. He won eight Superbowls (six with the New England Patriots as head coach, and two with the New York Giants as Defensive Coordinator), nine AFC championships and 333 overall wins, making him the second head coach with the most wins in the National Football league (NFL).
“I think Bill Belichick is the greatest of all time,” junior Caleb Nightengale claimed.
This egregious news has former players and coaches outraged, and rightly so. Don Shula, an impressive head coach for the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore (now Indianapolis) Colts, was inducted into the hall of fame as a first ballot contender in 1997. Now, not intending to show any disrespect towards Shula, but his resume appears underwhelming when compared to Belichick’s. Although Shula won more regular season games than Belichick, he won far less playoff games. Additionally, Shula only has two super bowls under his belt, compared to Belichick’s 8. However, the issue isn’t the resume itself, but that the voters had different priorities when choosing the coach, such as having a clean record. Many of the voters, such as Mike Chappell, stated that they did not vote for Belichick because of the Spygate; Though the Spygate was a great wrongdoing, Don Shula was also a part of a scandal, where he forced players to take painkillers in order for them to continue playing.
“I just don’t see another candidate this year that would be better than Bill,” Nightingale said.
It will be interesting to see who will be inducted into the hall of fame for NFL coaches this year. Some of the candidates are Mike Shanahan, Tom Coughlin and Mike Holmgren. Regardless, players, fans and coaches, around the league have stated their opinion: and it seems to be one-sided.
In all, the voting committee for the Pro Football Hall Of Fame has been quite questionable to say the least. Whoever they select for this year’s inductee will have an impressive record, but nothing compared to Belichick’s. Nonetheless, Belichick will likely be inducted into the hall of fame next year, but even then that’s not sure.
