NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wiped his hands clean of Bill Belichick's reported Pro Football Hall of Fame snub.
Belichick fell short of the votes needed to make this year's Hall of Fame class. ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham said last Tuesday that some voters wanted the legendary head coach to wait at least one year because of his role in the New England Patriots' Spygate cheating scandal.
Asked about Belichick's omission on Monday, Goodell clarified that the NFL has "no say in the voting process." However, he believes Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft will eventually get inducted.
"We are not involved in it," Goodell said. "Bill Belichick's record goes without saying, same with the Patriots and Robert Kraft, who is also a candidate. They are spectacular. They have contributed so much to this game, and I believe they will be Hall of Famers."
After Goodell's comments, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Tuesday morning that Kraft also wasn't voted into the Hall of Fame.
Belichick's Hall of Fame snub
© Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
Belichick reportedly fell one vote shy of making the Hall of Fame during his first year on the ballot. The outcome has sparked outrage among onlookers demanding to reform a system in which an eight-time Super Bowl champion (six as a head coach) isn't a unanimous choice.
The 73-year-old is second in all-time wins (playoffs included) behind Don Shula and steered the Patriots to nine AFC titles over an 18-year window. New England won the AFC East all but once from 2003 to 2019, with the only outlier coming in an 11-5 campaign in which Tom Brady suffered a season-ending injury.
Brady was among the critics to bash Belichick's Hall of Fame snub last week.
"I don’t understand it," Brady said last Wednesday in a Seattle Sports radio interview. "I mean, I was with him every day. If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, there’s really no coach that should ever be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Which is completely ridiculous because people deserve it.
"He’s incredible. There’s no coach I’d rather play for. If I’m picking one coach to go out there and win a Super Bowl, give me one season, I’m taking Bill Belichick."