Bill Belichick Among Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2027 HC Candidates After 2026 Snub

Six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick will get a second crack at enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Belichick is one of five nominees in the coach category for the 2027 class. The other four are Tom Coughlin, Mike Holmgren, Dan Reeves and Mike Shanahan.

Fans were stunned when Belichick was passed over during his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility. He's one of the greatest coaches in NFL history and is third all time in wins.

The explanation for his snub was pretty benign .

Seemingly enough voters independently thought Belichick would sail through, so they strategically picked other candidates who were on the bubble. As a result, the person with the strongest resume didn't move on to the next phase.

The Hall of Fame amended its voting procedures in an effort to avoid a similar situation in the future.

For retired coaches, one of the five nominees advances to the final stage. Under the Hall of Fame's bylaws, voters have to select between three and seven new members from the 15-person finalist pool, which includes 13 players and one contributor.

Belichick will be the heavy favorite to make it through, which is tough because the other four all have good cases for themselves.

Reeves took the Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl three times between 1986-89 and then won an NFC title with the Atlanta Falcons in 1998. He ranks 12th in wins.

Coughlin won a pair of Super Bowls with the New York Giants and turned the Jacksonville Jaguars into a playoff team in just their second year of existence.

Holmgren is another Super Bowl champion with two additional NFC titles. He also produced quite a coaching tree during his 17 years as a head coach.

Shanahan helped popularize the zone blocking scheme , which he used to great effect with the Denver Broncos. He was also responsible for John Elway finally getting over the hump and wrapping up his career with back-to-back Super Bowl wins.

As much as those four achieved, it's difficult to picture Belichick missing out for a second straight year.