Bill Belichick Denied First-Ballot Hall of Fame: 'Score Settling' and 'Gatekeeping' Say Birds 365 Hosts

ESPN reported on Wednesday that Bill Belichick will not receive enough votes to be inducted as a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer. The news drew an immediate and visceral reaction from the Birds 365 crew, with hosts Zander Krause and John McMullen calling it an embarrassment for the Hall of Fame voting process.

A Slam Dunk That Wasn't

Belichick, who won six Super Bowls as head coach of the New England Patriots and eight total in his coaching career including two with the New York Giants, is widely considered one of the most successful coaches in NFL history. Yet the Hall of Fame selection committee did not provide the required votes for first-ballot induction.

'If that guy's not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, what are we doing here?' Krause said. 'If Bill Belichick is not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, nobody is. And don't miss me with the stupid Spygate stuff. He has six Super Bowls.'

McMullen was equally direct, calling the voters who opposed Belichick 'idiots.' He labeled the decision 'score settling' and 'gatekeeping,' and noted that unlike baseball, which has a morals clause that voters can lean on, football's Hall of Fame has no such provision. 'They're going outside the realm of what they're supposed to do,' McMullen said. 'Nobody can make an argument that this guy doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame on merit.'

The Bill Polian Factor

According to the ESPN report, Bill Polian was reportedly involved in navigating the discussion and suggesting Belichick should serve at least a year of penance for the Spygate scandal. However, Polian denied this characterization in a conversation with Matt Verderame. The full details of the committee's deliberations remain unclear.

A Baseball-Style Disaster

Both hosts drew pointed comparisons to the Baseball Hall of Fame, which has been widely criticized for voters using moral judgments to keep some of the game's greatest players out of Cooperstown. 'Congratulations, you're going to become like the Baseball Hall of Fame, which most people who are sports fans think is a complete and utter joke,' Krause said.

McMullen added: 'When there's slam dunks and you go down a different route, you're either saying look at me, look at me, or you're not doing your job and you shouldn't have that vote. There's opinion and there is fact. Fact is, Bill Belichick is a first-ballot Hall of Famer.'

Several Hall of Fame voters have publicly confirmed they voted for Belichick, but as of the show's taping, no voter had come forward to admit they voted against him. Jason Cole, a Hall of Fame voter, was expected to discuss the situation on the National Football Show later in the day.

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