Reports on Tuesday indicated that Bill Belichick will not be a first-ballot NFL Half of Fame coach. To the likes of many, this was a surprise because Belichick is an eight-time Super Bowl champion. 

He won six rings as head coach of the New England Patriots and two with the New York Giants as a defensive coordinator. This is the most out of any NFL coach in history. As one of the most successful coaches overall in NFL history, he should have been an immediate pick. 

The 73-year-old has 302 regular season wins, which is third on the all-time list, behind Don Shula and George Halas. He also has 31 postseason wins to his name, which is the most in NFL coaching history. 

He also drafted some notable players during his 24-year tenure in New England, including the likes of Brady, Richard Seymour, Julian Edelman, and Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski.

Success, however, often brings controversy, and there are two scandals tied to his name that could have left doubts for the hall of fame voting committee. 

In 2007, Belichick was involved with the Spygate scandal. He and his Patriots staff were accused of stealing signs from the New York Jets from unauthorized areas. Then, in 2014 there was Deflategate, where Tom Brady and the Patriots were accused of deflating the footballs they used during games.

Belichick has no real involvement in the 2014 scandal, and considering his entire career, Spygate is not that huge of a smudge on his reputation. 

Belichick, who is currently the coach of the University of North Carolina’s football team, is considered to be one of the best coaches of all time, so his rejection is a serious hit to the voting committee’s credibility. 

Next year, NFL fans should expect to see Belichick voted into immortality with him taking his place in the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.