The NFL and its fans are still attempting to wrap their collective minds around Bill Belichick not being a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Disappointment and confusion flooded social media after reports emerged that the head coach who won six Super Bowls, plus two more as an assistant, fell short this week of the needed votes to be a part of the Class of 2026.
Included in the wave of prominent football voices bewildered by the voting results was Jimmy Johnson, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2020 class.
The two-time Super Bowl winner with the Dallas Cowboys, who made his opinion on the Belichick matter known on social media, appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” and expressed more frustration Wednesday with the Hall’s voting process, calling it a “crying shame” the legendary coach will have to wait another year.
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“I think this tarnishes everything in the Hall of Fame, all of the inductees, everybody in the Hall of Fame just because of 10 or 11 or 12 ignorant, jealous a–holes who did not vote for him,” Johnson said.
“I think it tarnishes everything about the Hall of Fame, as far as if they’re using the excuse of the ‘Spygate.’ You know, before they had the electronic communication between the sideline and the players — everybody was trying to steal signals.”
The former Cowboys coach admitted that his coaching staffs would attempt to steal other team’s signals at times. However, he stopped the practice because, “we weren’t real good at it.”
The “Spygate” and “Deflategate” scandals were among some of the black marks on Belichick’s otherwise accolade-filled resumé.
Eligible candidates must receive at least 80% of the final vote from 50 panelists to get into the Hall. Johnson said he feels some voters possibly chose to vote for some people they “liked” under the assumption Belichick would be a lock for enshrinement.
“No one knows the history of the NFL more than Bill Belichick. No one loves the NFL more than Bill Belichick. And it just pissed me off that it wasn’t a slam dunk — him going into the Hall of Fame,“ Johnson said.
“He’ll go in next year.”
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