ClutchPoints
Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will not be a first-ballot Hall of Famer after missing out on the 2026 coaching class. Needless to say, NFL fans are not pleased with that decision.
Belichick did not qualify for the 2026 class, according to ESPN’s Seth Wickersham and Dan Van Natta Jr. That decision means the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach will have to wait another year before potentially receiving the honor.
Bill Belichick will NOT be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, per @SethWickersham and @DVNJr.
He fell short of the votes needed to be inducted during his first year of eligibility pic.twitter.com/5SEW42cUQe
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 27, 2026
The announcement was met with unanimous criticism, even by Belichick’s biggest haters. Regardless of opinions about his personality or coaching style, nobody can deny Belichick’s status as one of the greatest coaches in NFL history.
Belichick’s snub stunned everyone, including former defensive end J.J. Watt and ESPN host Pat McAfee.
“I can’t be reading this right,” Watt tweeted. “This has to be some knock-off Hall of Fame or something. It can’t be the actual NFL Hall of Fame. There is not a single world whatsoever in which Bill Belichick should not be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.”
“Bill Belichick is not a first ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer,” McAfee echoed. “Bill Belichick could be in the [GOAT] conversation for coach AND GM and he isn’t a first-ballot Hall of Famer in the PRO FOOTBALL Hall of Fame.”
Fans were even more upset with Belichick’s dismissal than former players and experts. For a coach who has as many critics as anyone in NFL history, finding a single comment from anyone supporting the 73-year-old’s rebuff is the most difficult task on social media.
“I want whatever that f*** a** committee is smoking,” one fan sarcastically commented.
“If Belichick isn’t a first ballot, who is?”
“Imagine waking up to find out Shedeur Sanders is in the Pro Bowl and Bill Belichick is not a first ballot HOF coach,” another fan tweeted. “What are we doing?”
“Feels like overthinking something that was very simple.”
Belichick’s legacy took a hit in 2025, when he coached North Carolina to a dismal 4-8 season. Still, that does not diminish any of his accomplishments in the NFL, which seem clear as day to most.
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