Legacy is something that gets talked about a lot for coaches, especially for those nearing retirement.
You could argue there's no higher (public) honor for NFL coaches than to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Legendary coaches like Tom Landry, Chuck Knoll and Don Shula can all stake claim to that honor. Landry led the Cowboys to 20-straight winning seasons, Noll led the Steelers to four Super Bowl titles in a six-year span and Shula is the only coach to lead an NFL team to an undefeated season and Super Bowl title and is also the game's all-time wins leader.
When Bill Belichick left the NFL, his legacy as a coach who won eight Super Bowls in his time with the Patriots (six titles) and Giants (two Super Bowls as a coordinator) made him seem like a no-brainer choice as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
However, that appears to not be the case.
Adam Schefter shares this evening that Belichick fell short of the 40 out of 50 votes needed for induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Belichick received a call last Friday informing him of the news, Schefter added.
The report goes on to share that Belichick was "puzzled" and "disappointed" in the inability for his body of work in the league to receive the votes of support from 80% of Hall's committee members, adding that the current North Carolina head coach believes "politics" is what kept him from the prestigious honor.
The voting committee for the Hall of Fame consists mainly of veteran NFL reporters, as well as Hall of Famers like Bill Polian and Tony Dungy. A total of eight other semifinalists made up the coaches in this year's group, including Tom Coughlin, Mike Holmgren, Chuck Knox, Buddy Parker, Dan Reeves, Marty Schottenheimer, George Seifert, and Mike Shanahan, and Belichick not making the cut means three of those guys will have to wait at least a year to make it in (Shanahan, Coughlin, and Holmgren - who was a finalist last season).
Belichick went an incredible 333-178 overall, which stands second among head coaches in all-time wins behind only Don Shula's 347 career wins. His tenure in the league includes records that will likely never be touched, including the 17 division titles, and a whopping 12 appearances in Super Bowls as either a head coach or assistant. He also put together 21 winning seasons, a mark that trails just four other legendary coaches.
In addition to the most Super Bowl titles as a head coach (6), Belichick ranks first in conference titles (9), and playoff wins (31)...and that wasn't enough for 10 voting members somehow.
Still, its impossible to ignore that Belichick's latest chapter of a storied career has been dominated by headlines of his much-younger girlfriend, the Tar Heels disappointing 4-8 mark in his debut season as a college head coach, and his story also includes significant dark clouds from his time in the NFL including scandals that became known as Spygate and Deflategate that occurred during championship runs.
If Belichick had opted for retirement instead of taking the North Carolina job, would that have mattered to the committee? I certainly don't think that should matter, but my opinion surely won't prevent that from being a popular topic around office water coolers nationwide.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.