Bill Belichick not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, sources say

Bill Belichick, who coached the New England Patriots to nine Super Bowl appearances and won six of them, will not be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, according to a published report.

ESPN, citing “four sources with firsthand knowledge of the outcome,” reported that Belichick fell short of the 40 votes he needed for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

He was left off 11 ballots, according to Bleacher Report.

Belichick, 73, received a call on Jan. 23 from a representative from the Hall that he would not be inducted this year. ESPN reported that Belichick was “puzzled” and “disappointed” by the decision.

“Six Super Bowls isn’t enough?” Belichick reportedly asked an associate, according to ESPN. He won two more Super Bowl titles while serving as defensive coordinator for the New York Giants.

To another associate, Belichick reportedly said, “What does a guy have to do?”

Other sports figures were equally miffed.

“I can’t be reading this right,” former Houston Texans defensive lineman JJ Watt tweeted. This has to be some knock-off Hall of Fame or something, it can’t be the actual NFL Hall of Fame. There is not a single world whatsoever in which Bill Belichick should not be a First-Ballot Hall of Famer.

“Insane … don’t even understand how this could be possible," Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes tweeted.

“I need someone to explain to me what a first ballot hall of fame coach looks like if it’s not Bill!” tweeted former defensive back Jason McCourty, who played for Belichick on the Patriots’ Super Bowl LIII winning squad during the 2020 season.

“If BILL BELICHICK isn’t a first ballot HOFer who is!?” tweeted former Patriots defensive back Darius Butler.

Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson characterized the snub as “just wrong.”

“Lot of small jealous voters,” tweeted Johnson, who was inducted into the Hall in 2020.

Sports stars outside of football were also stunned.

“There is no way I read this right,” Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James tweeted. “Ain’t no WAY Bill Belichick ain’t 1st Ballot HOF!! That’s IMPOSSIBLE, EGREGIOUS, and quite frankly DISRESPECTFUL!”

For this year’s ballot, Belichick was grouped with one contributor finalist — Patriots owner Robert Kraft, The Athletic reported. Others considered on the ballot are three senior finalists -- players who have been eligible for more than 20 years -- quarterback Ken Anderson, running back Roger Craig and defensive lineman L.C. Greenwood.

Each Hall of Fame voter was asked to vote for three from that list.

According to The Athletic, Belichick was selected from the coaches category this year over Tom Coughlin, Mike Holmgren, Chuck Knox, Buddy Parker, Dan Reeves, Marty Schottenheimer, George Seifert and Mike Shanahan.

The full Hall of Fame class will be announced on Feb. 5 at the NFL Honors show. Voters’ ballots and voting totals are not made public.

ESPN, quoting “multiple sources,” said that the cheating scandals known as Spygate and Deflategate, was discussed during deliberations.

Belichick is the second-winningest NFL coach behind Hall of Famer Don Shula, who was inducted in his first year of eligibility in 1997.

Belichick had a 4-8 record in 2025 during his first season as a college football coach at the University of North Carolina. He struggled through a 4-13 season with New England in 2023, the worst mark of his 29 seasons as a head coach. He had a 266-121 regular-season record with New England from 2000 to 2023. He also won 30 playoff games as the Patriots’ coach.

Belichick had a 36-44 record as head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 1991 to 1995 and added a postseason win.

His 333 career wins, including the postseason, are second only to Shula’s 347. Belichick’s 2007 squad came the closest to duplicating Shula’s 1972 Miami Dolphins, who had an unbeaten, untied record. The Patriots finished that year with a 16-0 mark — the only team with an unblemished mark in the regular season since the NFL schedule was expanded to 16 games in 1978. New England won two playoff games but was denied a perfect season when it lost Super Bowl XLII 17-14 to the New York Giants in the final 35 seconds.

Belichick’s 31 career playoff wins are the most all-time among NFL head coaches. He led the Patriots to 19 consecutive winning seasons from 2001 to 2019, second only to the 20 achieved by Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry.

In addition to leading the Patriots to nine Super Bowls, Belichick guided New England to nine AFC titles, 17 division crowns and 30 postseason victories, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com. The team won 11 consecutive division titles from 2009 to 2019.

With Tom Brady at quarterback, Belichick led New England to victories in Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX, LI and LIII.

In 2018, Belichick led New England to its third consecutive Super Bowl berth, matching Shula. Buffalo’s Marv Levy led the Bills to four straight Super Bowls during the 1990s.

While Brady grabbed most of the offensive limelight — and deservedly so — it was Belichick’s planning, particularly on defense, that helped the Patriots reach the Super Bowl nine times. His defense held the St. Louis Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf” squad to 17 points in Super Bowl XXXVI, and he outsmarted Pete Carroll by being prepared for a goal-line pass against Seattle, as Malcolm Butler picked off a pass that preserved a 28-24 victory against the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.

Belichick became the third coach in NFL history to win 300 games, achieving the feat against — ironically — the Cleveland Browns, in a 27-13 victory on Oct. 27, 2019.

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