Bill Belichick was just as baffled as everyone else that he was not named a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
The legendary New England Patriots head coach did not receive the required 40 out of the 50 votes for him to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The result prevents him from getting the nod on his first year of eligibility — a stunning result for arguably the greatest coach in NFL history.
A report from ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham gave a bit of insight into how Belichick took the news. The 73-year-old coach was “puzzled” and “disappointed” upon learning about the snub, and believed that “politics kept him out” rather than his coaching resume not being worthy enough.
Belichick reportedly asked an associate, “Six Super Bowls isn’t enough?” and told another, “What does a guy have to do?”
There’s no question Belichick has accomplished enough in the NFL to be deserving of a first-ballot entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He has six Super Bowl rings as the head coach of the Patriots, and two more as a defensive coordinator during his time with the New York Giants.
In a sporting landscape where winning regularly trumps any other accolade, Belichick was the most successful coach by a wide margin. But Belichick did have to quell a few controversies over the years, which played a part in keeping the Patriots icon out of the Hall of Fame for at least one summer.
