Pro Football Hall of Fame to
consider changes after Belichick's omission sparks outrage
[February 07, 2026]
By JOSH DUBOW
The Pro Football Hall of Fame will consider making changes to the
voting panel and process of choosing Hall of Famers following a year
when Bill Belichick's omission from the 2026 class generated
outrage.
Hall of Fame President Jim Porter said in an interview Thursday
night after the five-player class was announced that there are
several possible tweaks that could be made, adding that those
changes aren't specific to Belichick's perceived snub.
But Porter seemed less inclined to alter a recent rule change that
grouped coaches and contributors with old-time players that played a
role in Belichick missing out despite winning a record six Super
Bowls as a head coach.
Porter said that the Hall plans to return to in-person voting and
discussion for the 50-member committee after moving to a virtual
meeting room following the COVID pandemic. He also said the vote
will likely happen closer to the annual reveal at NFL Honors to
reduce the chances of leaks and said the Hall would consider
releasing vote totals and individual ballots in the future but won't
do it for this year's class.
Porter said the Hall will also look at replacing any voters who
might have violated the rules either by publicly discussing the
off-record debate about the candidates or by not voting for the
“most deserving” candidates in each category.
“I’m not here to tell them who the most deserving is,” Porter said.
“If the Hall was to tell who the most deserving is, we wouldn’t need
them to vote. We understand that. We just want the rules followed.”
Voter Vahe Gregorian of the Kansas City Star wrote a column
explaining his reasoning for choosing seniors players Ken Anderson,
Roger Craig and L.C. Greenwood instead of Belichick even though he
believed Belichick shouldn't have had to wait for induction.
“In the end, though, I felt more compelled by what I perceive to be
last chances and looming lost causes within the system as we have it
— a system I hope the Hall will see fit to change now,” Gregorian
wrote.
But Porter said picking seniors players over a coach because the
players might not be guaranteed another chance as a finalist was not
allowed.
“That’s not an option," Porter said. “You have to pick the most
deserving. Those are the instructions that were read four times.”
Some voters have expressed frustration over rule changes put in
place last year that have grouped players in the seniors category
who have been retired for at least 25 years, along with coaches and
contributors. The new rules also made it harder for anyone to reach
the 80% threshold.
In this year's vote, Belichick and New England Patriots owner Robert
Kraft were grouped with the three seniors players. Instead of an
up-or-down vote on each candidate, voters got to choose three of the
five with the leading vote-getter and anyone else above 80% getting
into the Hall. Craig was the only one of the five to get in this
year after Sterling Sharpe was the lone one last year with coach
Mike Holmgren not getting enough support.
[to top of second column] |
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick holds up the Vince
Lombardi Trophy as he celebrates the Patriots' victory over the
Seattle Seahawks in NFL Super Bowl XLIX football game Feb. 1, 2015,
in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
This is the third straight year no coach got the
honor, leading to calls from some people — including voters — to
separate coaches and contributors from the seniors.
Porter didn't seem inclined to change that process, saying that for
more than 50 years coaches and contributors were grouped with
players before changes about 10 years ago.
“The question is, what changed?” Porter asked. “What was it that the
selectors could do that for the 50-some years but now can't. They
could get the right person in that didn’t require a category. I
don’t know. We’ll find it out. We’ll talk to a lot of people. .. But
there’s a responsibility there. The responsibility is to pick the
most deserving. They got down to where that number was. So my
question is, is everybody picking the most deserving.”
This was also the second straight year with fewer than five
modern-era candidates getting in after a rule change. Instead of an
up-or-down vote on five players, seven made it to the final stage
with voters allowed to pick five. The top three and anyone else
above 80% gets into the Hall.
Last year, only three players reached that threshold and there were
four this year: Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly and Adam
Vinatieri. Willie Anderson, Terrell Suggs and Marshal Yanda fell
short and will automatically be in the final 15 next year.
After 12 straight years of at least seven people getting inducted,
there have been only four and five the past two years.
“The number got really high,” Porter said.
Porter said he hopes shortening the time between the vote and
announcement — it was more than three weeks this year — will reduce
leaks but he still wants enough time for the tradition of Hall of
Famers delivering the news in person to the new class in what is
known as “The Knock.”
He is open to changes overall but doesn't see the need for an
overhaul of the process.
“We’ll do some tweaks and we’ll take a look,” he said. “We’re going
to do what’s best for the Hall of Fame. My job is to protect the
integrity of the Hall, protect the integrity of the process.”
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