A voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame revealed himself as one of the people who did not cast a ballot for Bill Belichick – but explained the complicated process leading to the decorated coach’s snub.
Veteran sports writer Vahe Gregorian of the Kansas City Star openly admitted to being one of the people who kept Belichick off their ballot for the honor of enshrinement in Canton, Ohio.
Gregorian wrote a column explaining his reasons, saying, ‘It’s hard to imagine a more accomplished candidate for the Hall of Fame’ than Belichick.
‘His profile is such that you could make his case among Hall of Fame voters simply by saying his name. Certainly, it can reasonably be wondered what the meaning of a Hall of Fame that doesn’t ultimately elect him is,’ he wrote.
But Gregorian went on to explain that Belichick’s snub is likely due to a bizarre voting process which lumps together three specific categories of candidates into one pool.
‘If the curious selection dynamics now in place allowed for a simple up-down vote on Belichick, as a selector I absolutely would have voted for him this year… But, alas, that’s just not how the voting works,’ Gregorian explained.
A Pro Football Hall of Fame voter revealed himself as one of the people who did not cast their ballot for Bill Belichick – while also railing against the system of voting which kept him out
Veteran sportswriter Vahe Gregorian said Belichick’s past scandals didn’t factor into his choice
None of the 50 voters for the PFHOF were aware of the results of the voting ‘including the phase specific to Belichick,’ per Gregorian. Therefore, the news broken by multiple outlets came as a surprise.
But further analysis of the ‘phase specific to Belichick’ can reveal exactly how and why the 73-year-old coach and eight-time Super Bowl champion was left out in the cold.
As Gregorian explains, the process to elect Belichick is separate from the ‘modern era candidates’ in the game. Instead, ‘the aspect involving Belichick illogically lumps together in one category the coaching candidate, the contributor candidate (in this case, Patriots owner Robert Kraft) and three seniors.’
What this essentially means is that Belichick, Kraft and the ‘senior players’ are all competing for one of three votes each selector is allowed to cast. Each candidate requires a minimum of 40 votes for enshrinement.
There have been suggestions that Belichick’s past history of bending the rules (see: Deflategate, Spygate) led to his snub from the Hall.
Gregorian dismisses that as a reason for his non-inclusion of both Belichick and Kraft from his ballot.
‘The so-called “cheating stuff” is not at all the only possible explanation. Because it certainly didn’t ultimately influence my vote,’ Gregorian says.
‘In fact, I didn’t vote against Belichick or Kraft. I voted for the three senior candidates: Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and L.C. Greenwood.’
Gregorian says he went into the voting process – where he was allowed to cast three votes between a group of coaches, ‘contributors’ and senior players – planning to vote for the coach
Instead, he voted for three senior players: Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and LC Greenwood (L-R)
In Gregorian’s defense, all three of those players are more than deserving of being in the Hall of Fame and it is a ridiculous oversight that they aren’t already in.
Anderson, the former quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals, won the 1981 MVP, Offensive Player of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year awards as well as a first-team All-Pro selection en route to the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance. He also led the league in passing yards twice, led in completion percentage three times, led in passer rating four times, earned a second-team All-Pro selection in 1975 and was a four-time Pro-Bowler.
Craig was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 1980s thanks to his prowess as a running back for the San Francisco 49ers. A three-time Super Bowl champion, he won the Offensive Player of the Year award for 1988, earned one first-team All-Pro and one second-team All-Pro selection, was named the ‘player’s MVP’ by winning the Jim Thorpe Award, led the league in receptions in 1985 and was a four-time Pro-Bowler as well.
Finally, Greenwood was a member of the vaunted ‘Steel Curtain’ defense in Pittsburgh – winning four Super Bowls with the Steelers. He’s a two-time first-team All-Pro choice, a six-time Pro-Bowler and a member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 1970s.
Gregorian says he went into the voting process planning on voting for both Belichick and Craig while keeping an open mind for the third spot.
But after hearing presentations on behalf of each candidate, Gregorian explained, ‘As it came time to cast the vote, I found myself thinking not just of them [Anderson, Craig, Greenwood] but of the experiences of recent senior semifinalists and finalists who didn’t make it.’
Gregorian demanded change to the system while supporting Belichick’s inevitable inclusion
Tom Brady, who spent decades as Belichick’s quarterback, says the coach deserved the honor
Gregorian explains the backlog of senior players not inducted in the Hall – including multiple members of All-Decade Teams – is ‘so overwhelming… that any chance to climb out is fleeting and fraught’ and that in recent years ‘under the new system fused together with the coach and contributor candidates, only three of the six senior nominees have made it through to the Hall.’
‘None of the three who were stopped short… resurfaced on the next year’s ballot. 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,’ he continued.
‘Meanwhile, Belichick is inevitable soon … as he should be. 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.’
Belichick’s snub has drawn scorn from current stars, former rivals and even his own ex-players. Both Tom Brady and Robert Kraft, who Belichick shared at times contentious relationships with in Foxborough, have publicly shamed the voters and advocated for the coach.
The current University of North Carolina football coach will have to wait for another shot at being voted into the Hall.