The most successful coach of all-time in the NFL will have to wait at least another year before entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who has the most Super Bowls as a head coach, with six, missed the mark for the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, ESPN’s Seth Wickersham and Don Van Natta Jr. reported Tuesday.
According to ESPN, Belichick fell short of the 40 out of 50 votes needed to earn enshrinement in his first year of eligibility. He reportedly received a call from a Hall representative on Friday with the news that he won’t be inducted.
Belichick was reportedly “puzzled” and “disappointed” after learning the news and asked an associate, “Six Super Bowls isn’t enough?”
Now a head coach at the University of North Carolina, Belichick’s resume in the NFL is irrefutable. He sits third all-time in wins with 302, and along with his record-setting six Super Bowls, he also holds the record for most conference championships with nine over his 29 years in the league.
The Nashville, Tenn., native began his coaching career with the Baltimore Colts as a special assistant in 1975. He held assistant, position coach and co-ordinator jobs until 1991, when he landed his first head gig with the Cleveland Browns, with whom he spent five seasons.
After his years in Cleveland, he moved on to his first job with the Patriots as an assistant head coach and defensive-backs coach, before working as a defensive co-ordinator with the New York Jets, then ultimately landing the top job in New England in 2000.
He stayed in Foxborough until 2023, when the two sides mutually agreed to part ways after a dynastic run, with six Super Bowls from 2001 to 2018.
Belichick pivoted from the NFL to the collegiate ranks in December 2024, signing a contract with the North Carolina Tar Heels as his first-ever job at the NCAA level. He finished his first campaign at UNC with a 4-8 record.
