Five selected; Belichick snub remains a hot topic

SAN FRANCISCO – The Pro Football Hall of Fame revealed its 2026 class of five on Thursday night at NFL Honors, honoring quarterback Drew Brees and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald in their first year of eligibility, linebacker Luke Kuechly and kicker Adam Vinatieri in their second, and 1980s dual-threat star Roger Craig as the lone senior selection.

Yet the announcement was overshadowed by a name not called: six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick, who fell short in his initial year on the ballot after at least 11 of the 50 voters withheld support. The omission triggered fresh criticism of both the electorate and a selection process that has grown stingier under recent rule changes.

Belichick’s résumé—333 combined regular-season and postseason victories and more Lombardi Trophies than any coach in history—was deemed insufficient this cycle. Patriots owner Robert Kraft, the executive who imported Belichick to New England and launched a two-decade dynasty, also missed the cut among contributors.

“His stats speak for themselves,” Vinatieri, who spent six seasons under Belichick and delivered the clutch kicks that ignited the Patriots’ first two titles, said after learning he had earned bronze immortality. “I thought he’d have a real good chance to be up there as well. The people who voted made their votes and I think he’ll be up here one day.”

The downsized class of five continues a new, more restrictive era for Canton; only four were enshrined last year after more than a decade of seven-or-more inductee classes. Under the revised format, the 15 modern-era finalists are trimmed to 10, then to seven, before voters select a maximum of five. The top three vote-getters and any additional candidate surpassing 80 percent approval earn jackets.

Craig, in his 28th year of eligibility, finally cleared that bar. The former 49ers running back became the first player to post 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season (1985) and amassed 2,036 scrimmage yards in 1988 while helping San Francisco secure a championship. His 410 scrimmage yards across Super Bowl victories in the 1984 and 1989 campaigns trail only Jerry Rice and Franco Harris historically.

Brees, who passed for 80,358 yards and 571 touchdowns—second only to Tom Brady—guided New Orleans to its lone Lombardi Trophy after the 2009 season and earned 13 Pro Bowl invitations. Fitzgerald, a lifelong Cardinal, sits behind only Rice in career receptions (1,432) and receiving yards (17,492) and authored a record-setting 2008 postseason (546 yards, seven touchdowns) that carried Arizona to its only Super Bowl appearance.

Vinatieri, the NFL’s all-time leader in points (2,673) and made field goals (599), provided the snowy 45-yarder in the 2001 divisional-round “Tuck Rule” game and the 48-yard walk-off in the subsequent Super Bowl against the Rams. Kuechly, a 2012 first-round pick, led all linebackers over his eight-year Panthers tenure in tackles (1,090), takeaways (26), interceptions (18) and passes defensed (66), earning five first-team All-Pro nods and Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.

Offensive linemen Willie Anderson and Marshal Yanda, plus edge rusher Terrell Suggs, survived to the final seven modern-era finalists and will auto-advance to the 2027 ballot.

While the five newest Hall of Famers celebrated, debate over Belichick’s absence—and the evolving selection standards—figures to rage well beyond this February night in San Francisco.