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Football talk leading up to Super Bowl LX has not been about the game itself, but rather the news that Bill Belichick, the legendary New England Patriots coach, will not be entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first ballot.
The backlash from the news seeping out of Canton has the likes of Tom Brady, Robert Kraft, Patrick Mahomes and many others expressing their displeasure with the Hall’s selection committee.
But one former NFL quarterback believes the Hall of Fame can still “correct” their “horrible mistake.”
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Then-New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick during the second half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
Dan Orlovsky, who now serves as an NFL analyst for ESPN, said on “First Take” Thursday that there is still time to make a change.
PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME ISSUES VOTERS WARNING AMID BILL BELICHICK SNUB FORBARS
In fact, he pleads with those with the power to do so.
“What a great opportunity for the Hall of Fame to get it right. And I know — that’s not what you throw with participation trophies out there. There’s a new voting process. It’s obviously flawed,” he said on the show, according to Awful Announcing. “Why can’t the Hall of Fame take a step back and say, ‘Let’s check what actually happened out here and make it right.’
“There’s not one person that has come out that has given Coach Belichick a legitimate reason not to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. This is obviously a big deal. Unless somebody does, why can’t the Hall of Fame take a step back and say, ‘You know what? We reassessed. Everyone makes a lot of good points. Let’s make sure the process is the right way, we do it here. Because the right thing is to have him as a Hall of Famer on the first ballot. I understand that everybody is in this rebellion like, ‘No, you can’t go back. The vote.’ Why not? Why can’t the Hall of Fame do the right thing and realize the egregious mistake that has been made.”
This is obviously something that has never happened before the House – changing the results of a vote on a candidate. But Orlovsky doesn’t care about what happened in the past.
“Just because it’s never happened before doesn’t mean it can’t happen in the future,” he added. “For anyone sitting there saying, ‘Well, personal bias affected’ — of course it did. They’re human. Trust me, when you’re voting on awards, bias will play its part. Bad blood shouldn’t, and at least according to reports, bad blood played its part in there.
Dan Orlovsky looks on prior to Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium on February 12, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
“The other part is this: Who’s next? Who’s next? Who’s going to be the next person to suffer the consequence of, ‘You were mean to me in the locker room?'”
Kansas City Stars Vahe Gregorian wrote one column Wednesday revealed that he was one of at least 11 Hall of Fame voters who did not vote for Belichick. He is the only one who has done it.
While one report suggested Belichick’s involvement in scandals with the Patriots, such as Spygate and Deflategate, could have led to his first ballot loss, Gregorian, who has covered the league for nearly 40 years, said he felt “obliged” to cast his votes for the senior candidates — Ken Anderson, Roger Woods, possibly their last chance to land LC and Roger Craig. into the hall.
Belichick was part of a five-man pool separate from the 15-man ballot in the modern era, where each voter was tasked with selecting only three members to enter the Hall. Among them are three senior candidates, a contributor, coincidentally Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and a coach.
ESPN Broadcaster Dan Orlovsky speaks before the game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Detroit Lions at M&T Bank Stadium on September 22, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (G Fiume/Getty Images)
Can the Hall of Fame right the wrong, as Orlovsky said? They have the power, but haven’t been told they likely will until the news is confirmed on Feb. 5 during NFL Honors, when the Class of 2026 headed to Canton will be officially unveiled.
Belichick has the second most wins by a head coach all-time, behind only the great Don Shula. Belichick won six Super Bowls in New England and two while defensive coordinator with the New York Giants.
