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Hacksaw’s Thursday Podcast…1:30pm
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
Hot Topics on Table..Stay for Fans Forum
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“HALL OF FAME-VS-THE HOODIE”
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What a difference a year makes, how Bill Belichick was viewed last year and how people are talking about him this week.
Belichick, the legendary Super Bowl coach, the 6X-Super Bowl winner with the Patriots. The coach who built an empire and developed Tom Brady.
Then the coach who failed to win once Brady left, feuded with owner Bob Kraft, and left behind a mess when they changed coaches.
Belichick, condescending forever in relationships with the media, an ogre of a person, and apparently pretty and petty vindictive
Belichick, who became the butt of jokes for his entire first year at North Carolina, after saying he would make the Tar Heels the NFLs 33rd team, and then had them play like an expansion team going (4-8).
And then the jokes the entire last year, Hoodie and Hot Pants, the aging coach with a 24-year old girlfriend bringing the spotlight to Chapel Hill, then disdain, then year long jokes up and down the ACC road map.
Many things to many people.
And now this, the snub from the voters for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, not electing him the first time on the ballot, despite the 6-New England rings, the 333-career wins, the 17-AFC East division titles.
But this may also cover things not on a stat sheet…Spygate..Deflategate and the aura of the person, not just the coach.
And voila, with the snap of the fingers came the reaction. You never knew this coach, that personality, his style, was liked by so many people, or maybe respected by so many people for his football acumen.
A cross section of the response in a 24-hour period, the reaction to the fact Belichick did not get the 40-of-50 votes (80%) he needed to get enshrinement. Social media melted down with the most influential of people raging:
..Robert Kraft..Bill belongs
..Tom Brady..Ridiculous..No coach should be 1st time vote-if not him
..JJ Watt..Irresponsible
..Patrick Mahomes..Insane
..Jimmie Johnson..Who are assholes that voted no
..Bill Cowher…He was standard of excellence
..Bill Polian..I voted for him..some wanted a year’s penalty
..Kurt Warner..Most accomplished coach ever
So the debate will go on till next week’s announcement of who got in and by what total. And now we can assess the story this way;, alot of people respected Belichick (professionally) even if alot of people disliked him (personally).
An essay from Front Office Sports: titled ‘Snub & Scrutiny”
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Bill Belichick will not be a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame member after not receiving enough votes earlier this month, according to ESPN.
The 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class will be unveiled Feb. 5 at the NFL Honors. But Belichick was notified Friday that he won’t be inducted this year, per ESPN.
Belichick, who won six Super Bowls as head coach of the Patriots, was one of five finalists in the coach, contributor, and seniors categories, alongside New England owner Robert Kraft and former players Ken Anderson, Roger Craig, and L.C. Greenwood.
This was the first year of eligibility for Belichick, who last coached the Patriots during the 2023 season. He is now the coach of the North Carolina football team. A set of rule changes made in 2024 shortened the waiting period for coaches from five seasons to just one and moved their selection into the same grouping as senior players and contributors.
The 50 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s selection committee were allowed to vote for up to three of this year’s five finalists, and 80% approval was required for election. That means at least 11 voters did not vote for Belichick.
That vote was separate from the 15 modern-era player finalists, of which voters were allowed to vote for 5.
The HOF selection committee is made up of one media representative from each pro football city, with two each from Los Angeles and New York. A 33rd member is a representative of the Pro Football Writers of America, and there are up to 17 at-large delegates. The at-large members are a mixture of other media members and former NFL coaches and executives.
With the exception of the PFWA representative, who is appointed for a two-year term, all appointments are reviewed annually and approved by the HOF’s board of directors.
Belichick, who also won two Super Bowls as the defensive coordinator of the Giants, was widely believed to be locked in as a first-ballot HOFer.
As of Wednesday morning, 22 voters had confirmed to journalist Ollie Connolly that they had indeed voted for Belichick.
ESPN reported that former Colts GM Bill Polian, a HOF voter, told other voters that Belichick should have to wait a year to be selected as punishment for Spygate and Deflategate, which Polian later denied to ESPN. However, when asked whether he voted for Belichick, Polian said he was 95% sure he did.
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Like all those Belichick years, we now have new discussions, headlined about the Hoodie-vs-Hall of Fame.
