Hall of Fame coach says he feels ‘guilty’ being in Canton without Bill Belichick
Perhaps unfairly, Bill Belichick needs to wait his turn to get into Canton.
Despite eight Super Bowl victories and the second-most wins in NFL history, Belichick came up short of the 80% of votes (40 out of 50) needed to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year.
Dick Vermeil was inducted into the Hall in 2022 while having seven fewer rings and 213 fewer victories. So, Vermeil knows where the line might be to get in.
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“If anyone belongs in the Hall of Fame, regardless of voting, it’s Bill Belichick. I honestly feel guilty being in there without him. . . . ” Vermeil told TMZ Sports. When you leave Bill Belichick out, the system doesn’t work, and there’s no way to justify it as it stands.”
It’s been reported and speculated that Spygate and Deflategate were points of contention that led to a lack of full support for Belichick, leading some to convince other voters that Belichick should be punished by waiting one year to get in. The 2007 spying scandal cost the team a first-round pick and $250,000, while Belichick was fined $500,000. Deflategate resulted in a four-game suspension for Tom Brady and $1 million in fines and ultimately reached U.S. courts.
However, Vermeil said keeping him out because of those scandals is “baloney.”
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“I’ve been in the league since 1969, and I’ve seen plenty of things done that technically weren’t legal or ethical that no one ever knew about, things equivalent to any of these charges. It’s almost a joke,” Vermeil added. “Coaching against Bill was nerve-wracking. I knew I was going to get outcoached and needed help from everyone else. It’s scary to think that the people who voted not to let him in might, in a few years, have the same reservations about Tom Brady not getting in on the first ballot.”
The finalized list of Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees will be released ahead of Super Bowl LX. Belichick was among the candidates in a separate group from the Modern-Era Players category, along with Ken Anderson, Roger Craig, L.C. Greenwood and Robert Kraft.
The Kansas City Star’s Vahe Gregorian wrote a column Wednesday revealing he was one of at least 11 Hall of Fame voters who didn’t vote for Belichick. Gregorian, who has been covering the league for nearly 40 years, said that the controversies were not the reason he passed on the coach.
Gregorian said he felt “duty-bound” to cast his votes for Anderson, Craig and Greenwood, believing they were looking at possibly their last chances to get into the Hall. Each voter in the Selection Committee can vote for up to three candidates, outside modern-era player selections.
Six of Belichick’s titles came as head coach of the New England Patriots, and the other two came as the New York Giants’ defensive coordinator.
Belichick, currently the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels, was 302-165 in his career as a head coach with the Patriots and the Cleveland Browns. He and the Patriots mutually parted ways following the 2023 campaign after 24 seasons.
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