UNC football general manager Michael Lombardi and athletic-director-in-waiting Steve Newmark were among many sports figures to share their disappointment and surprise at reports that head coach Bill Belichick was not voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first ballot. An ESPN report published Tuesday night indicated Belichick, currently between his first and second seasons as UNC’s head coach, did not accumulate the required 40 of 50 possible votes to earn induction.
“It’s hard to imagine a scenario where Bill Belichick is not a first ballot selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Newmark said on social media Wednesday morning. “The greatest coaching resume in NFL history speaks for itself, and we are fortunate to have Coach Belichick leading our team.”
Lombardi called the vote a “complete injustice,” and urged the Hall of Fame to establish criteria for head coaches to qualify.
Other figures from across football and sports at large weighed in.
“Insane,” said Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes. “Don’t even understand how this could be possible.”
“I can’t be reading this right,” said former All-Pro defensive lineman J.J. Watt. “This has to be some knock-off Hall of Fame or something.”
Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson, himself a member of the Hall of Fame, said the decision was “just WRONG.”
“I would like to know the names of the [expletive] who did not vote for him,” Johnson said. “They are too cowardly to identify themselves.”
Even basketball legend LeBron James shared his thoughts on the vote, saying, “That’s IMPOSSIBLE, EGREGIOUS, and quite frankly DISRESPECTFUL!”
Prior to arriving in Chapel Hill in 2024, Belichick had spent nearly 50 years coaching in the NFL. He first rose to prominence as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants in the 1980s, helping the team win two Super Bowl titles and coaching future Hall of Fame linebacker (and UNC alumnus) Lawrence Taylor.
Belichick won six Super Bowls as head coach of the New England Patriots from 2020 through 2023, giving him eight championships between his time as an assistant and a head coach. Belichick also served as de facto general manager for much of his time with the Patriots, drafting future stars such as Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman. After leaving New England in 2023, Belichick was out of football entirely before being named the UNC head coach. The Tar Heels finished 4-8 in Belichick’s first season with the program.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame has not confirmed the members of its Class of 2026. The group will be unveiled Feb. 5 during the NFL Honors in San Francisco. Belichick will have another chance to earn induction to the Hall of Fame when the voting cycle begins again for the Class of 2027.
Featured image via Associated Press/Phelan M. Ebenhack
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