New England Patriots fans are still reacting to the news of Bill Belichick not getting inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first attempt. He only reached nine Super Bowls as a head coach and won six of them but apparently that wasn't enough for voters to put him in Canton.
Armando Salguero of Outkick and Hall of Fame voter appeared on The Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday to discuss Belichick's snub. He discussed how Spygate is likely the reason why Belichick didn't get the votes he needed to be inducted but he also floated how voters didn't want to vote for him because he might come back and coach in the NFL again.
Salguero did point out how returning to coach is not an issue so he doesn't believe that was ultimately the reason why Belichick was snubbed. He thinks that Spygate is the culprit here.
"There was one voter who said outright, I'm not voting for him because of Spygate... And there was others who brought up the one year thing of just the fact that he might come back and be a coach again in the NFL after being selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That is not an issue for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and that was said in the meeting, so I assume that that was not the thing. I think that Spygate was the factor that we're sitting here today. It's the reason that Bill Belichick is not a first ballot Hall of Famer."
Hall of Fame voter reveals Spygate mattered more than Belichick’s résumé
This is a frustrating outcome considering what Belichick has accomplished as a head coach in the NFL. He also won two Super Bowls as a defensive coordinator with the Giants earlier in his NFL career so he has eight titles and has cooked up some of the best schemes on the biggest stages.
If Spygate is the reason why voters didn't want to put Belichick in, that's their prerogative but they should come forward and tell people that that's why they didn't give him their vote. By not revealing they voted against Belichick, it proves even more that they likely knew their reasons were silly.
Salguero's comments prove that voters are still bitter about Spygate and wanted to punish Belichick for his actions. Will this continue in future votes? Will Tom Brady also be punished when his time to be voted in comes? It'll be interesting to see how all of this plays out in the future.