The longtime coach waits for his turn.
Here’s how many votes Bill Belichick needed to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer — and it’s wild originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Bill Belichick came up one vote short of enshrinement, and the fallout from the Hall of Fame decision has only intensified scrutiny of a process many around the sport already viewed as flawed.
According to a report by NBC Sports' Mike Florio, longtime Hall of Fame voter Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says Belichick received 39 of the 40 votes required for election in his first year of eligibility. The former New England Patriots coach needed to appear on at least 80% of the 50 ballots submitted but missed that threshold.
The vote placed Belichick in a final grouping with owner Robert Kraft and former players Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and L.C. Greenwood. A one-off format that limited voters to selecting only three candidates from the group.
If no candidate reached the 40-vote requirement, the individual with the most votes would be elected. Belichick did not clear the bar, meaning another candidate in the group reached the necessary total or benefited from the structure.
The reported margin has opened criticism of the system. Belichick, a six-time Super Bowl-winning coach and the most successful head coach in NFL history, was widely viewed as the most deserving candidate in the group. Some voters acknowledged prioritizing senior committee nominees out of concern they may not get another opportunity for consideration.
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The lack of transparency has also drawn backlash. Hall of Fame ballots remain secret, even as the Associated Press and other organizations publicly release award votes. Critics argue that secrecy enables strategic voting and unintended outcomes, particularly in tightly constrained formats.
Belichick is now the head coach at North Carolina and led the Tar Heels to a 4-8 season. He declined public comment on the vote. The Hall of Fame did not release an official vote tally.
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