11/05/2026 11:03:00
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11/05 11:01 CST Bill Belichick again is among five coaching candidates for the
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Bill Belichick again is among five coaching candidates for the Pro Football
Hall of Fame
By ROB MAADDI
AP Pro Football Writer
Bill Belichick again is among five coaching candidates for the Pro Football
Hall of Fame.
Tom Coughlin, Mike Holmgren, Dan Reeves and Mike Shanahan join Belichick in the
Coach category for possible election into the Hall's Class of 2027.
The list was announced Thursday by the Canton, Ohio-based Pro Football Hall of
Fame.
Members of the Hall's coaching subcommittee made their selections from an
original field of 14 nominees. The subcommittee will select one candidate to be
considered when the Hall's selection committee determines a new class of
enshrinees in early 2027.
All five reached this stage last year when Belichick advanced in the process
but the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach was not elected in his first
year of eligibility. Belichick's snub was criticized intensely around the NFL.
"If he's not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, there's really no coach that should
ever be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, which is completely ridiculous because
people deserve it. He's incredible," Tom Brady said.
Belichick and Brady won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots.
Belichick also won two as a defensive assistant coach with the New York Giants.
Belichick's career included a sign-stealing scandal dubbed "Spygate" in the
2007 season. He was fined $500,000 after the team was caught filming defensive
signals from the New York Jets during a game.
Belichick's final season in New England was 2023. He's in his second season
coaching in college at North Carolina.
Coughlin won two Super Bowls with the Giants, beating Belichick, Brady and the
Patriots both times. He was 182-157 in 20 seasons with the Giants and
Jacksonville Jaguars. Coughlin also won a title with Giants as an assistant
coach.
Holmgren led the Green Bay Packers to one Super Bowl title and was 174-122,
including postseason, in 17 seasons with the Packers and Seattle Seahawks. He
also won two Super Bowls as an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers.
Reeves was 201-174-2 in 23 seasons with the Denver Broncos, Giants and Atlanta
Falcons. He led the Broncos to the Super Bowl three times and the Falcons once,
going 0-4. Reeves won a title as an assistant with the Dallas Cowboys.
Shanahan won back-to-back Super Bowls with Denver and was 178-144 in 20 seasons
with the Broncos and Washington Redskins. He also won a title with the 49ers as
an assistant coach.
On Wednesday, the Hall of Fame announced the five contributors who have
advanced in the process: Ralph Hay, Robert Kraft, Virginia McCaskey, Doug
Williams and John Wooten.
The final list of 15 candidates will include one contributor, one coach and 13
modern-era players. The group will be reduced to 10 and then seven candidates.
A 25-person selection committee will be able to vote for six people, with 80%
of support needed. The Hall said that would lead to a range of three to seven
Hall of Famers each year, with by far the most likely number to get the
necessary support being either five or six people.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2027 will be announced at "NFL Honors"
in Los Angeles in February and enshrined next August in Canton.
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