At first I thought this may be a satire or parody account, but apparently not.
Apparently Bill Polian led the anti-Belichick debate. Talk about holding a grudge.
Bill Belichick, the eight-time Super Bowl-winning coach, will not be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, sources told ESPN.
www.espn.com
"Six Super Bowls isn't enough?" Belichick asked an associate, referring to the championships he won as head coach of the New England Patriots. He won two more as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants. To another associate, he said, "What does a guy have to do?"
With an NFL coaching record of 333-178, including playoffs -- second all-time to Don Shula's 347 victories -- Belichick was considered by most fans and Hall voters to be a first-ballot lock. The Hall's voting committee is composed mostly of veteran NFL reporters, but also football figures such as former general manager Bill Polian and former coach Tony Dungy, both of whom are Hall of Famers.
Multiple sources told ESPN that Spygate and Deflategate, the twin cheating scandals during the Patriots' championship run, came up in deliberations among voters. A voter who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Polian, an ardent Kraft supporter and former general manager of the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts -- a chief Patriots rival during their dynasty -- told some voters he believed Belichick should "wait a year" before induction as penance for Spygate.
When told that Belichick isn't a first-ballot Hall of Famer, Peter King, a 32-year Hall of Fame voter who didn't cast a ballot this year, said: "Holy f---! Oh f---! ... I'm very, very surprised. A lot of things happen in that room that are unexpected. And of course this is a big surprise to me," King said.
"It pushes all three of these coaches back a year," King said. "You have to ask yourself: What does the coach's committee do next year? Are they going to again advance Belichick? Wouldn't it be embarrassing if they don't? ... This decision has a major impact beyond just one year."
