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One of the first known voters not to pick Bill Belichick as a Pro Football Hall of Famer in the first round has explained his choice.
The Kansas City Star’s Vahe Gregorian wrote a story Wednesday revealing he was one of 11 Hall of Fame voters who didn’t check Belichick, shocking the football world when the news surfaced Tuesday.
While that report noted Belichick’s involvement in scandals with the New England Patriots like Spygate and Deflategate, Gregorian, who has covered the league for nearly 40 years, said that was not the reason he excluded the coach from his ballot.
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Bill Belichick, then head coach of the New England Patriots, was denied entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first ballot. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, file)
Gregorian said the room’s “curious selection dynamic” led him to vote elsewhere.
To explain further, Belichick was part of a five-person group distinct from the 15-person ballot of the modern era, where each voter is responsible for selecting only three members to enter the room. These include three senior candidates, a contributor and a coach.
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Belichick was the coach on this year’s ballot, while, coincidentally, Patriots owner Robert Kraft was the contributing candidate.
But Gregorian explained why he chose to cast his three votes for the three senior members – Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and LC Greenwood – all of whom he believed deserved a place in Canton.
Gregorian said he felt “obligated” to vote for the older candidates, believing they may be looking at their last chances to get into the room.
“All three have long been deserving of induction into the Hall,” he wrote in his column. “All three were snubbed for decades.”
A longtime NFL reporter has revealed why he didn’t check Belichick’s name on his Pro Football Hall of Fame ballot. (Damian Strohmeyer/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Gregorian’s thought process was that Belichick would inevitably get in, but once he saw that he didn’t get the necessary 80 percent of votes in his first round of voting, the veteran writer understood the vitriol and backlash that was received once the news broke.
“At the risk of contradicting my own vote, really, [Belichick] I shouldn’t even have to wait,” Gregorian’s column reads. “I understand why people are offended that he doesn’t leave as soon as he can.
“I felt more compelled by what I perceive as last chance and looming lost causes within the system as we have it – a system that I hope the Hall sees fit to change now.”
Kraft called Belichick “the greatest coach of all time,” while Tom Brady said he didn’t understand why his former mentor from Foxborough, Mass., wasn’t traveling to Canton, Ohio, this summer.
Many others, including Patrick Mahomes, JJ Watt, Ryan Clark and Pat McAfee, all shared their disbelief after reading the news.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft and others have called Belichick “the greatest coach of all time.” (Steven Senne, AP file/photo)
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Belichick has the second most wins by a head coach of all time, behind the great Don Shula. He won six Super Bowls in New England and two while serving as defensive coordinator with the New York Giants.
Even if Gregorian was brave enough to face the backlash, it’s unclear if the other writers who didn’t vote for Belichick will come forward.
