Bill Belichick Denied 1st Ballot Hall of Fame Angers LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes & Others

Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was assumed to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first attempt.

Bill Belichick Denied 1st Ballot Hall of Fame Angers LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes & Others

LeBron James, Bill Belichick and Patrick Mahomes (Image via Bleacher Report/X/Imago)

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When one talks about Bill Belichick and his exploits in football, the eight total Super Bowl wins, along with the stability he brought to the New England Patriots, are the most obvious accomplishments.

The 73-year-old unceremoniously left the NFL for the top job at the University of North Carolina, where he and his very young girlfriend have been the subject of increasing scrutiny and some controversies.

However, multiple NFL records still stand and are unlikely to be matched in this new era, where coaches are hired and fired faster than the average length of time a player stays in the league.

In that case, it should not be a surprise if Bill Belichick becomes the most obvious candidate for 1st Ballot Hall of Fame induction. That, though, did not happen.

Bill Belichick, the 8-time Super Bowl-winning HC, is not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, per Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr. Belichick fell short of the 40 out of 50 votes needed for induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

Adam Schefter revealed on X

Naturally, as soon as this news became public, debates started raging throughout the sports world as no one could believe that someone as accomplished as Bill Belichick would not get into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.

Athletes and former coaches rage after Bill Belichick misses out on Hall of Fame

If anyone was unaware of the gravity of this situation, all they needed to look at was the number of views Adam Schefter‘s announcement tweet garnered.

If they are still unsure, the tweets and replies from the who’s who of the sporting world should be enough to understand that the Hall of Fame voters fumbled big time by denying Bill Belichick.

From NBA superstar LeBron James to Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes to former defensive stalwart JJ Watt, everyone took to social media to express their anger. Check out examples of those reactions below.

This year has been quite something for football fans. They were already struggling to grasp that none of the superstar quarterbacks were playing in the Super Bowl.

Then, two of the longest-tenured coaches after Bill Belichick left the NFL had also stepped down from their jobs. The cherry on top was when 5th round pick Shedeur Sanders was named to the Pro Bowl.

Bill Belichick had tremendous respect for the Hall of Fame

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is a place where the best of the best have been immortalized. Even though there are some who question some of the names that have earned a gold jacket, the likes of Bill Belichick always had respect for it.

Bill Belichick won 8 Super Bowls as a coach
Bill Belichick won 8 Super Bowls as a coach (Image via Sleeper NFL/X)

No matter who was being nominated, the former New England Patriots head coach had tremendous respect for the entire concept of it.

Many former players do not hold the Hall of Fame in that regard, like Belichick. Despite that, it seems the coach with the best resume will have to wait one more year to ‘earn’ his gold jacket.

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