One Pro Football Hall of Fame voter has admitted he didn’t vote for former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
Belichick, of course, reportedly fell short of the 40 votes needed to make the HOF. On Wednesday, Vahe Gregorian of The Kansas City Star — a member of the 50-person selection committee — revealed he didn’t vote for the North Carolina Tar Heels HC.
Why HOF voter Vahe Gregorian left Bill Belichick off his ballot
Gregorian explained he left Belichick off because he believed he would be nominated anyway and wanted to reward senior players who have been waiting to make it for years. Coaches, senior players and contributors are clumped together in one pool of nominees. Modern-era players are placed into the other.
The five senior finalists were Belichick, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson, former San Francisco 49ers running back Roger Craig and former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end L.C. Greenwood.
“All three [players] have long been deserving of induction in the Hall. All three have been well snubbed for decades,” wrote Gregorian in a story published Wednesday. “…All of that went into why I felt duty-bound to vote for the richly deserving seniors, who most likely won’t ever have a hearing again as more senior candidates enter the pool and fresh cases get made for others.”
Gregorian added he didn’t vote against Belichick to punish him for Spygate, and he wants the HOF to change its selection process after this fiasco.
“Belichick is inevitable soon…as he should be,” wrote Gregorian. “At the risk of contradicting my own vote, really, he shouldn’t even have to wait. I understand why people are offended that he isn’t going in the first moment he can. …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.”
On X, The Athletic’s Mike Sando expanded on possible ways Belichick missed the cut. He mentioned some voters may have assumed the coach was a shoo-in and thus voted for senior candidates, like Gregorian.