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The football talk leading up to Super Bowl LX was not about the game itself, but rather the news that Bill Belichick, the legendary coach of the New England Patriots, would not be entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first ballot.
Negative reactions to the news coming out of Canton caused the likes of Tom Brady, Robert Kraft, Patrick Mahomes and many others to express their displeasure with the Hall selection committee.
But a former NFL quarterback believes the Hall of Famer can still “rectify” his “grave mistake.”
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Then-New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick during the second half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, file)
Dan Orlovsky, who is now an NFL analyst for ESPN, said on “First Take” Thursday that there’s still time to make a change.
PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME ISSUES WARNING TO VOTERS AMID BILL BELICHICK SNUB INDIGATION
In fact, he implores those with the power to do so.
“What a great opportunity for the Hall of Fame to make things right. And I know it’s not the participation trophy that we’re throwing out. There’s a new voting process. It’s obviously imperfect,” he said on the program, according to Awful Announcing. “Why can’t the Hall of Fame step back and say, ‘Let’s check out what really happened here and make it right.’
“There’s not a single person who has given a justifiable reason for Coach Belichick not to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. That’s obviously a big deal. Unless someone does, why can’t the Hall of Fame take a step back and say, ‘You know what?’ Because the good thing is having him as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. I understand that everyone is in this turmoil like, “No, you can’t go back. The vote. Why not ? Why can’t the Hall of Fame do the right thing and realize the blatant mistake that happened. »
This is obviously something that has never happened in the House: changing the results of a vote on a candidate. But Orlovsky doesn’t care about what happened in the past.
“Just because it’s never happened before doesn’t mean it can’t happen in the future,” he added. “For everyone who sits there and says, ‘Well, personal bias had an impact’ – of course it did. They’re human beings. Trust me, when you vote for awards, bias will play a role. Disagreement shouldn’t play a role, and at least from the reports, disenchantment has played its part.
Dan Orlovsky looks on before Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium on February 12, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
“The other part is: Who’s next? Who’s next? Who’s going to be the next person to suffer the consequences of, ‘You were mean to me in the locker room?'”
Vahe Gregorian of the Kansas City Star wrote a column Wednesday revealing that he was one of at least 11 Hall of Fame voters who did not vote for Belichick. He is the only one to have done it.
While one report indicated that Belichick’s involvement in scandals with the Patriots, like Spygate and Deflategate, may have led to his first-round loss, Gregorian, who has covered the league for nearly 40 years, said he felt “duty” to vote for the senior candidates – Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and LC Greenwood – believing they may be looking at their last chances to get into the room.
Belichick was part of a five-person group distinct from the modern-era 15-person ballot, in which each voter was responsible for selecting only three members to enter the room. Among those are three senior candidates, a contributor, who happens to be Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and a coach.
ESPN broadcaster Dan Orlovsky speaks before the game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Detroit Lions at M&T Bank Stadium on September 22, 2025, in Baltimore, Maryland. (G Fiume/Getty Images)
Can the Hall of Fame rectify the mistake as Orlovsky said? They have the power, but it’s unclear if they’re likely to do so until the news is confirmed on Feb. 5 at NFL Honors, when the class of 2026 heading to Canton will be officially revealed.
Belichick has the second most wins by a head coach of all time, behind the great Don Shula. Belichick won six Super Bowls in New England and two while he was defensive coordinator with the New York Giants.
