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Bill Belichick’s resume screams one-way ticket to Canton, Ohio, but when he wasn’t elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, many were shocked Tuesday night.
Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes is among them.
“Crazy… I don’t even understand how this could be possible,” Mahomes on
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Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots and Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs shake hands after Kansas City’s 27-17 victory at Gillette Stadium on December 17, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Belichick confirmed the news Tuesday night after receiving a call from a Hall of Fame representative last Friday.
ESPN reported that Belichick asked an associate, “Six Super Bowls isn’t enough,” referring to the championships won during his 23 years at the helm of the New England Patriots.
“What’s a boy to do?” he supposedly added.
BILL BELICHICK REPORTED TO MISS OUT OF HALL OF FAME FIRST VOTE DRAWS QUICK REJECTION
ESPN added that Belichick, who also won two Super Bowls during his time as the New York Giants’ defensive coordinator, was “bewildered” and “disappointed” that he did not receive at least 80% of the votes from Hall committee members.
“Politics kept him out. He doesn’t think this is a reflection of his accomplishments,” a source told ESPN.
Belichick owns the second-most wins by a head coach in NFL history, with a record of 333-178, including playoffs. He is second only to the great Don Shula, the Hall of Famer who has 347 wins.
It’s Belichick’s record leading a dynasty in New England that led many to believe there was no way he would make it past the first ballot.
ESPN reported that the infamous Spygate and Deflategate scandals involving the Patriots during Belichick’s time in charge came up during deliberations over whether or not to vote for him in Canton.
Either way, Mahomes’s reaction, and supposedly Belichick’s, doesn’t end there.
Close-up of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick on the sidelines during a game against the New York Jets, East Rutherford, New Jersey, on September 9, 2007. (Damian Strohmeyer/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
“I can’t be reading this right,” future Hall of Famer JJ Watt tweeted. “This has to be a knockoff Hall of Fame or something, it can’t be the real NFL Hall of Fame. There isn’t a single world in which Bill Belichick shouldn’t be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.”
Pat McAfee added: “Bill Belichick is not officially a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer. Bill Belichick…Bill Belichick could be in [GOAT] talks for coach AND general manager and is not a first-ballot Hall of Famer in the PRO FOOTBALL Hall of Fame.”
Belichick, the current head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels, also coached the Cleveland Browns before finding success with the Patriots. It won six titles with Tom Brady at the helm before mutually parting ways with the franchise after the 2023 season.
He had a controversial end with both the Browns and the New York Jets. The Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens under the cover of darkness, essentially leaving the entire franchise in the city. As he was set to take over as the Jets’ head coach, he withdrew at the last minute and decided to accept the New England job.
Then-New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick during the second half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Belichick’s coaching tree also appears to be very strong, especially with former player Mike Vrabel, who helped him win three titles, leading the Patriots back to the Super Bowl for the first time since the Belichick Era in his first year as head coach.
Josh McDaniels, who worked closely with Belichick during those Super Bowl years, is also alongside Vrabel.
