Updated Jan. 27, 2026, 7:31 p.m. ET<\/p>\n
(This story was updated to add new information.)<\/p>\n
Somehow, former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will reportedly not be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and a former Indianapolis Colts’<\/a> GM may have played a role in that.<\/p>\n According to a report from Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham of ESPN<\/a>, Belichick did not meet the 40 out of 50 vote minimum to be inducted in his first year of eligibility.<\/p>\n Belichick should have been a shoo-in.<\/p>\n He won eight Super Bowls as a coach in the NFL, six of which came as the Patriots’ head coach. Belichick also has a career record of 333-178. He’s only 14 wins behind Don Shula for the most by a head coach in NFL history.<\/p>\n Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a><\/p>\n The first question that comes to mind when reading all of this is, how?<\/p>\n Well, perhaps here’s a piece of that puzzle.<\/p>\n “Multiple sources told ESPN,” wrote Van Natta and Wickersham, “that Spygate and Deflategate, the twin cheating scandals during the Patriots’ championship run, came up in deliberations among voters.<\/p>\n “A voter who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Polian, an ardent Kraft supporter and former general manager of the\u00a0Buffalo Bills<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Indianapolis Colts<\/a>\u00a0— a chief Patriots rival during their dynasty — told some voters he believed Belichick should “wait a year” before induction as penance for Spygate.”<\/p>\n Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame, however, spoke with Polian after this report came out, and he denied the claim.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s totally and categorically untrue,” Polian told Verderame. “I voted for him.”<\/p>\n Polian was the Colts<\/a>‘ general manager from 1998-2009, right in the midst of when the Patriots’ initial dynasty began.<\/p>\n