Pro Football Hall of Fame makes notable changes to election process after Bill Belichick snub

Snubbing Bill Belichick is resulting in changes for the Hall of Fame.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced Friday seven notable revamps “intended to improve its selection” process one year after the legendary coach did not make the first cut.

The group of voters is being cut from 50 to 28, president and CEO Jim Porter said in the release.

“The Hall continually reviews its bylaws to ensure the selection process reflects the highest standards of integrity and the magnitude of election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Porter said. “There is no more important task at the Hall of Fame than the election of each new class.” 

The selection process came under fire last year after Belichick, with six Super Bowls to his name and a strong argument for the greatest coach of all time, didn’t garner enough votes.

Making it even more jarring is that Belichick needed just 40 votes from the 50-person pool, meaning at least 11 individual deemed him not worthy.

It’s not surprising these changes would come now, although the release said this concluded a two-and-a-half-year process in which Porter said felt concerned about the “unintended biases.”

The release said Porter worried about how those biases affected the “disparate skills” of the individual presenters for each candidate, which individual represented each of the league’s 32 teams and issues regarding players in the final years of eligibility in the Modern-Era Players grouping.

The new process will have someone who is not part of the selection committee make the first presentations, and selectors won’t be assigned to certain teams.

All eligible players will also be part of the same players pool, and the “contributors” category has expanded and “may include tenure as a player and/or coach along with other contributions to the game.”

The selection committee of 28 (25 voting members and three non-voters, with 27 considered at-large and one representing the Pro Football Writers of America) will also meet in person after six years of remote discussions stemming from COVID, per the Hall of Fame.

“Returning to an in-person meeting with 28 Selectors will create robust, thoughtful dialogue and debate around the candidates being discussed,” Porter said in the release. “The goal of the Hall of Fame always has been the election of the most deserving individuals, regardless of category.”

The list of eligible candidates has been shortened from 20 to 15 consisting of 13 players, one coach and contributor.

Players who don’t make the cut will also will not retain finalist status for the following year after top-seven finishers previously had earned that distinction.

“The Hall of Fame’s selection process has always been guided by integrity, thoughtful deliberation and a commitment to honoring those most deserving of football’s highest individual honor,” Porter said in the release. “We believe these changes both augment what has worked well while addressing opportunities to further strengthen a tradition that means so much to the game and everyone who loves it.”