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NFL legend Jimmy Johnson has no plans to be at the Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremonies this year after Bill Belichick was left off the 2026 class the first time he appeared on the ballot.
Johnson was among those upset by the omission, as ESPN reported Tuesday night. The former Dallas Cowboys head coach and Super Bowl winner ripped voters Wednesday in various social media posts.
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Jimmy Johnson, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Centennial Class, right, poses with his presenter Troy Aikman during the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Aug. 7, 2021, in Canton, Ohio. (Ron Schwane-Pool/Getty Images)
Then he took it a step further.
Johnson stated on “The Pat McAfee Show” that he will not be showing up to Canton, Ohio, this year for the festivities.
“I thought it was going to be an automatic, so I chartered a jet, I was going up there. To hell with it, I’m not going this year,” he said. “I love football. Now that I’m retired from FOX, I got four TVs set up, I got 12 hours on Saturday, 12 hours on Sunday, nobody comes into the room. I only leave the room to get a little bit of food.
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New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick looks on during the first quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on October 15, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Chris Unger/Getty Images)
“I love football and I appreciate greatness. And that’s what you had with Bill Belichick — greatness. And I’m a coach. If some of the players don’t get in, it doesn’t bother me too much. But for a great football coach not to get on the first ballot, it was wrong.”
Belichick needed 40 votes to enter the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. He won six Super Bowl titles as the New England Patriots’ head coach and two more as an assistant with the New York Giants under Bill Parcells.
At least one voter revealed why he was left off their ballot.
The Class of 2026 won’t be officially revealed until next week in the lead-up to Super Bowl LX. Belichick was among the nominees in a separate group from the modern players category, along with Ken Anderson, Roger Craig, LC Greenwood and Robert Kraft.
Belichick was “puzzled” and “disappointed” by the decision and that he wondered what more he had to do as a head coach to come in right away, ESPN reported.
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick turns his whistle during an NFL football practice, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
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“Politics kept him out. He doesn’t believe this is a reflection of his performance,” another source told the magazine.
