Pro Football Hall of Fame Voter Admits to Not Voting for Bill Belichick, Explains Shocking Snub

Word has emerged that Bill Belichick, who won two Super Bowls as the New York Giants' defensive coordinator before adding six more as the New England Patriots' head coach, did not make the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot.

Multiple people on the 50-person Selection Committee have since stated that they voted for Belichick.

However, on Friday evening, Vahe Gregorian of the Kansas City Star became the first person to officially reveal that he did not vote Belichick in.

To be clear, Gregorian does believe Belichick belongs in the Hall, to the point where he wrote it was "hard to imagine a more accomplished candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame."

"His profile is such that you could make his case among Hall of Fame voters simply by saying his name. Certainly, it can reasonably be wondered what the meaning of a Hall of Fame that doesn't ultimately elect him is," Gregorian said.

In short, Gregorian cited his perceived flaws in the current voting system, where he (and the other 49 voters) had to choose three of five for the Hall: Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end L.C. Greenwood, San Francisco 49ers running back Roger Craig, Belichick and his old boss with the Patriots, owner Robert Kraft.

In essence, Gregorian said he "didn't vote against Belichick or Kraft." Rather, he wrote he voted "for" the three players.

Here's a quick breakdown of how this particular voting process works before delving more into his thoughts.

In essence, the Pro Football Hall of Fame lumps together three separate categories into one for gold jacket consideration: Coach, Contributor and Seniors.

This process is separate from the voting for "Modern Era Players," where the likes of Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald are being considered this year.

Coach is self-explanatory. Contributor is someone who contributed to the game outside playing and coaching. A "senior" is a player whose career has been over for at least 25 seasons.

Separate committees are created for each category, with three players coming from the senior committee, one from the coach committee and one from the contributor committee.

The final selection committee then reviews the candidacies of the five nominees and can choose up to three people on the ballot.

A person on the ballot must receive at least 80 percent of the vote for enshrinement, or votes from 40 people in the committee.

So this year, Belichick was essentially in a competition with three senior players and a contributor.

Gregorian went into depth about why he voted for the three senior players. In essence, he felt that senior semifinalists and finalists have been unfairly left out of the Hall.

Gregorian cited a few Chiefs players who have been left out—defensive back Albert Lewis, wide receiver Otis Taylor and  offensive tackle Jim Tryer—before speaking about what he calls the "senior backlog."

"Despite 10 senior players (along with three contributors and two coaches) being inducted in 2020 as part of the NFL 100 celebration, the senior backlog remains so overwhelming — including approximately 60 one-time all-decade players — that any chance to climb out is fleeting and fraught."

Gregorian says he "felt duty-bound to vote for the richly deserving seniors, who most likely won't ever have a hearing again as more senior candidates enter the pool and fresh cases get made for others."

Regardless of how one feels about Gregorian's logic (or anyone else's, should they come forward) in leaving Belichick out, one has to wonder whether the HOF snub leads to changes in the voting process going forward.