Pro Football Hall of Fame voter details problematic selection process

Former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick appeared to be the surest of locks to become a first ballot selection for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and become enshrined in Canton this summer. 

Well the Hall of Fame voters — or at least some of them — thought differently as the eight-time Super Bowl champion did not receive the 40 out of 50 votes necessary to be voted in. 

One of those voters, The Athletics’ Mike Sando, joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak and Bertrand on Monday to detail what he believes to be a broken process. 

“It’s process and people,” Sando said. 

Sando explained that the biggest problem lies within how the Hall of Fame groups owners, coaches and senior players into a single category. When the final group of five is announced, the 50 voters select three finalists and they all must cross an 80% threshold in order to be voted in. If none reach that mark, the highest vote getter will be inducted. 

Because owners and coaches are grouped with senior contributors, it leads to many voters being more favorable to older candidates in order to get them in while they have the chance. In doing so it leaves more deserving candidates, like Belichick, waiting another year. 

“There’s a section of voters that are so committed to senior candidates getting in and think these guys need priority,” Sando said. “They’re going to vote for them no matter what.” 

This was seen with Vahe Gregorian, a columnist for the KC Star, who reportedly voted for all three senior player candidates, Roger Craig, Ken Anderson and L.C. Greenwood. Sando claimed that there had to be a group of voters who also voted this way in order for Belichick to miss the required 40 votes. 

Sando explained that with a section of voters leaning for mainly the senior players, and others, including Sando, voting for the best candidate, it splits the vote and oftentimes leads to the situation where only one candidate emerges. 

This very well could lead to just Craig being voted into the Hall of Fame, with Belichick and Robert Kraft left right at the doorstep.  

The fix, according to Sando, is to separate the contributors and coaches from the senior players. In doing so it would allow the voters to get in their senior player, while also putting the best candidates, Belichick and Kraft, the opportunity to get to Canton. 

“People cannot even align on whether the ball is skidding across the turf with pebbles flying up, and we have 4K video for instant replay,” an exec from an NFL team said. “With these candidates, it is either clear and obvious, or you whine. The real issue is, you don’t really know. Kraft and Belichick are both Hall of Famers, so stop. Your job is done. Put them in.”