The witch hunt is on to find those who did not vote for Bill Belichick. The New England Patriots’ perennial Super Bowl contender for two decades was denied the Hall of Fame in his first attempt on Tuesday.
The news drew outrage from many members of the community and voters for the Hall of Fame spoke about whether they voted for Belichick. Bill Polian, who worked for multiple rival teams of the Patriots, had trouble remembering if he had voted for Belichick.
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In a Tuesday clip of the “Speakeasy” podcast posted on X, former Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh ripped Polian and other voters who may not have voted for Belichick.
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“When you make that statement, Bill Polian, you’re lying, and you know you’re lying. You know you didn’t vote for him… this whole process now needs to be overhauled,” Houshmandzadeh said. “The whole voting process. It’s guys that saying that probably shouldn’t be in, and it’s guys that aren’t in that really should be in.
“If you didn’t vote for Bill Belichick, you should be stripped of your voting rights. Everybody that didn’t vote for Bill Belichick, you should be. He’s earned this. Like when you earn something, you should get rewarded for what you’ve accomplished. … Anybody who did not vote for Bill Belichick should be stripped. They should never be able to vote again.”
Belichick coached in the NFL in various roles with various teams from 1975 until 2023, winning the Super Bowl six times and reaching the Big Game nine times as a head coach. In his time as a head coach, he had 21 winning seasons, including a 16-0 regular season in 2007.
Dissecting how Bill Belichick missed Hall of Fame cut
Many have speculated that Bill Belichick missed the Hall of Fame cut because of Spygate and Deflategate, while others have suggested that his final run without Tom Brady was damning.
However, one key recent change in the Hall of Fame candidacy rules might speak volumes. According to an Aug. 23, 2024 ESPN report, the Hall of Fame considerably shortened the waiting time for coaches from five years to one year. The report noted that it would move up the waiting period for Belichick.
“That means six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots could receive his bronze bust and gold jacket in Canton, Ohio, as soon as 2026,” the report stated.
Of course, that did not come to pass.
One of the key reasons for the wait between retirement and a Hall of Fame decision is to let the work of a player or coach breathe, letting personal biases dissipate. By moving up the date, it opened the door to biases playing a bigger role, which would explain why a six-time Super Bowl champion was not a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Still, the former New England Patriots head coach will be in line for a faster path to the Hall of Fame than the five-year wait if he can get in over the next few years.
Edited by Ian Van Roy
