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Two members of the New England Patriots dynasty are one step closer to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft and former head coach Bill Belichick are among five people named finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Belichick would fall into the coaching category while Kraft would fall into the contributor category.
Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and LC Greenwood were also named finalists in the senior category.
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New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick shakes hands with owner Robert Kraft before the game. The Patriots lost to the New York Giants, 10-7, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on November 26. (Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Members of the 50-person selection committee can vote for three of the finalists, and candidates need 80% of the vote to be admitted. If no candidate receives 80% of the votes, the one with the greatest number of votes will be elected, which means that at least one person will be admitted.
No more than three candidates will be admitted from the group of five, since only three can obtain the required 80%.
Belichick was hired by Kraft in 2000 and led the franchise to six Super Bowl titles and three more title game appearances over an 18-year span from 2001 to 2018. Belichick’s 333 regular-season and playoff wins with the Patriots and Cleveland Browns are second-most behind Don Shula’s 347. He won the AP NFL Coach of the Year award three times.
NORTH CAROLINA’S BILL BELICHICK AVOIDS QUESTIONS ABOUT JORDON HUDSON’S LATEST DRAMA
North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick watches from the sidelines during the first half of an NCAA football game against Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (Nell Redmond/AP)
Belichick also had success before joining the Patriots, winning two Super Bowls as the New York Giants’ defensive coordinator.
Kraft bought the Patriots in 1994, and the team’s 10 Super Bowl appearances since then are the most by any owner in NFL history. The team reached the Super Bowl in its third season under Bill Parcells and then nine more times with Belichick as coach.
Kraft has been a member of several NFL owners’ committees and played a key role in resolving the 2011 lockout.
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However, the relationship between Belichick and Kraft has grown frosty in recent years. Kraft said in a podcast appearance in May that hiring Belichick was a big risk. Belichick responded by saying that taking that job was a big risk.
Belichick said in September that New England Patriots staff members were excluded from the North Carolina football program, where he now coaches. The legendary coach said that because he is not welcome at the Patriots’ facility, the team’s staff is not welcome at theirs.
Regardless of their relationship status, there is a chance they could both enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame together.
