Former Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts general manager Bill Polian denied rumors that he had influence on Bill Belichick not being a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
“I voted for coach Belichick in the Hall of Fame selection meeting,” Polian said Wednesday on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “The Pro Football Hall of Fame has confirmed that fact through the auditors of the selection process. Again, I’ll state that I never said that I believe that coach Belichick should ‘wait a year’ for enshrinement. This has been confirmed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, numerous selectors who were in the room, and my vote for coach Belichick.”
According to ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham, one Pro Football Hall of Fame voter said that Polian told other voters he believed Belichick should “wait a year” before induction as a penalty for the Spygate scandal during his tenure with the New England Patriots.
On Tuesday, Polian denied telling fellow voters that Belichick should serve a one-year penance for Spygate and could not remember with 100 percent certainty if he voted for the coach (via Van Natta and Wickersham).
Belichick didn’t receive 40 out of the 50 votes required to earn a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame during his first year of eligibility, a shocking result given his legendary career patrolling the sidelines.
He won six Super Bowl titles in 24 years with the Patriots and captured two more championships during a prior stint as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants.
Belichick also won three AP NFL Coach of the Year awards, compiling an overall record of 333-178. His 333 victories are the second-most of any head coach in NFL history.
The Spygate controversy occurred during the 2007 season, as the Patriots were discovered to be videotaping the coaching signals of other teams. New England was fined $250,000 by the NFL and forced to forfeit a 2008 first-round draft pick, while Belichick was fined $500,000.
Although the scandal may have factored into discussions surrounding his Hall of Fame candidacy, it was still unexpected to see him miss the cut in his first year on the ballot.