North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick. Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Bill Belichick briefly addresses his stunning Hall of Fame snub

By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated Jan 31, 2026 9:46 AM ET

The sports world was left shocked this week when it was reported that Bill Belichick will have to wait at least another year to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and fans have been waiting to hear what the legendary coach has to say about the snub. It turns out they will have to wait a bit longer.

Belichick was eligible for the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, but he reportedly did not receive the necessary 40 of 50 votes needed for induction. The class will formally be unveiled at the "NFL Honors" event on Feb. 5 in San Francisco.

Author and former New York Daily News reporter Gary Myers, who has a Hall of Fame vote and says he voted for Belichick, spoke with Belichick on Friday. The coach said he would not make any public comment about his omission from the Hall of Fame until after the 2026 class is announced.

"I will not be making any public comments until at least after this year's class is announced," Belichick told Myers.

Breaking news (sort of): I have the first official comment from Bill Belichick after getting snubbed by the @ProFootballHOF selection committee for the class of 2026:
"I will not be making any public comments until at least after this year's class is announced," he told me.
— Gary Myers (@GaryMyersNY) January 30, 2026

Bill Belichick said what everyone was thinking

Belichick's comment to Myers was the first one the 73-year-old made on record since news of his Hall of Fame snub emerged. However, ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham, who published the original story about Belichick's omission, included a reported comment from the North Carolina coach. Belichick reportedly asked one associate, "Six Super Bowls isn't enough?" He asked another associate, "What does a guy have to do?"

At least some of the voters who chose not to support Belichick seem to believe the coach deserved to be punished over the infamous New England Patriots "Spygate" scandal, which took place in 2007. Most agree that the cheating, gamesmanship or whatever you want to call it was not enough to erase the fact that Belichick is arguably the greatest coach in NFL history.

Myers and other Hall of Fame voters were just as shocked as the general public that Belichick did not receive the first-ballot nod.

Steve DelVecchio

Steve is a veteran writer who has covered a variety of sports and pop culture topics for more than 15 years. In addition to Yardbarker, his work has been featured on prominent digital publications including Larry Brown Sports, MSN and FOX Sports. The UConn graduate has published more than 40,000 stories and is one of the most experienced trending news writers in the country

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