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JJ Watt was shocked by Bill Belichick HOF vote

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated Jan 27, 2026 7:39 PM ET

Count J.J. Watt among those who were stunned by the Bill Belichick news on Tuesday.

Word emerged Tuesday that Belichick had been denied by the Pro Football Hall of Fame voters. The legendary former New England Patriots head coach fell short of the 40 of 50 votes he needed to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. It was his first time on the ballot, and his six Super Bowl rings as a head coach apparently weren’t enough.

I can’t be reading this right.

This has to be some knock-off Hall of Fame or something, it can’t be the actual NFL Hall of Fame.

There is not a single world whatsoever in which Bill Belichick should not be a First-Ballot Hall of Famer. https://t.co/OXhL1Sd4FM
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) January 27, 2026

“I can’t be reading this right. This has to be some knock-off Hall of Fame or something, it can’t be the actual NFL Hall of Fame. There is not a single world whatsoever in which Bill Belichick should not be a First-Ballot Hall of Famer,” Watt wrote in a post on X.

It’s hard to imagine what happened with the vote regarding Belichick. He has won a record six Super Bowls as a head coach, and he won two more as a defensive coordinator with the New York Giants. He also was recognized as an AP Coach of the Year three times during his career.

Belichick, of course, was surly with the media at times. He also had moments that rubbed people the wrong way, such as resigning as head coach of the New York Jets after just one day. He also has drawn negative attention for his brief tenure at North Carolina, as well as his relationship with Jordon Hudson. Still, none of that would seem to legitimately explain why he would be anything other than a sure-thing Hall of Fame inductee.

How did this happen? If any time a revote were needed, it’s now.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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