Bill Belichick has won everything in the NFL. No one has lifted the Super Bowl as often as the longtime coach of the New England Patriots. A missed honor causes astonishment.
Despite his status as the most successful coach in NFL history, Bill Belichick did not make it into the American Football Hall of Fame at the first attempt. As ESPN reported, citing anonymous sources, the six-time Super Bowl winner with the New England Patriots missed the minimum number of 40 of the 50 votes for entry into the Hall of Fame and was informed of this on Friday. The news caused great surprise and criticism. “Crazy… I don’t even understand how this could be possible,” Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes wrote on X.
The Hall of Fame will not officially announce the new members until February 5th, at a gala shortly before the Super Bowl. Belichick is said to have been informed in a call that he was not accepted in the first attempt. “What does a man have to do?” he is said to have asked, according to ESPN information.
The now 73-year-old coach was in charge of the New England Patriots for 18 years and led the team to nine Super Bowl appearances and six victories during this time. With 333 wins in the main round and the playoffs, he is in second place on the all-time best list behind Don Shula (347). As head of defense for the New York Giants, he had already won the Super Bowl twice before his time with the Patriots.
Career overshadowed by two NFL scandals
However, Belichick is also closely linked to two NFL scandals. He was fined half a million dollars for an affair known as “Spygate” because the Patriots were caught spying on the New York Jets and filming tactical signals. In addition, during Belichick’s tenure, the Patriots were prosecuted in the “Deflategate” case, when the air pressure in the footballs in the AFC Championship duel with the Indianapolis Colts was too low and did not comply with the rules.
Belichick’s time with the Patriots ended after the 2023/2024 season and he now works as a college coach in North Carolina. Induction into the Hall of Fame is an extremely prestigious honor, especially in US sports.
