Tony Dungy, Bill Polian among voters reportedly cut from Pro Football Hall of Fame's selection committee

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is heavily revamping its selection process, with some cuts along the way. The organization announced earlier this month that it will shrink its selection committee from 50 media members to 28, significantly reducing the number of arbiters who decide what warrants a bust in Canton. The voters are apparently being informed this month whether they themselves are in or out.

Among the voters to be cut is veteran Tennessee Titans reporter Paul Kuharsky, who has compiled a 19-person list of who is out . Among them are four reporters with more than three decades of experience on the committee, as are well-known names like Lisa Salters and Hall of Famers Tony Dungy and Bill Polian.

Kuharsky's list, with each voter's year of experience and represented market:

With 22 voters getting cut, there are at least three other media members who will not be returning to the committee and more if any new voters are added.

Kuharsky also has a list of nine voters confirmed to be staying, the most conspicuous of which is Vahe Gregorian of the Kansas City Star. Gregorian was one of the two confirmed "no" votes for former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, whose rejection by the committee earlier this year led to extreme scrutiny of the election process .

The Hall claims this revamp of said process comes after a two-and-half-year review, with "extensive discussions" held among Hall of Fame staff members, board members, Hall of Famers and selection committee members.

"The Hall continually reviews its bylaws to ensure the selection process reflects the highest standards of integrity and the magnitude of election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame," President & CEO Jim Porter said. "There is no more important task at the Hall of Fame than the election of each new class."

In addition to a smaller selection committee, the Hall is returning to an annual in-person meeting to discuss candidates and changing its categories for enshrinement.

Before, there were modern-era players, the most well-known group, as well as "seniors" (former players who retired at least 25 years ago), contributors (executives, owners, referees) and coaches (self-explanatory).

Now, the categories are only players, coaches and contributors. All eligible players will be considered from the same pool.

That change seems more likely to be a reaction to the Belichick backlash than cutting voters, as those categories appeared to play a significant role in Belichick's rejection. There were surely voters who objected to Belichick's candidacy on the grounds of his two cheating scandals, but Gregorian was among the voters confirmed to have not voted against Belichick because he was forced to choose between the coach and the three seniors.

The old system basically made all 50 voters choose only three of the five names presented from the seniors, coaches and contributors. That group was Belichick, former Patriots owner Robert Kraft and players Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and L.C. Greenwood. Of that group, only Craig got the required 80% for enshrinement .

Gregorian said he picked the three seniors, all of whom would have had to wait considerably longer for their next chance than Belichick:

All of that went into why I felt duty-bound to vote for the richly deserving seniors, who most likely won't ever have a hearing again as more senior candidates enter the pool and fresh cases get made for others.

Meanwhile, Belichick is inevitable soon … as he should be. At the risk of contradicting my own vote, really, he shouldn't even have to wait. I understand why people are offended that he isn't going in the first moment he can. In the end, though, I felt more compelled by what I perceive to be last chances and looming lost causes within the system as we have it — a system I hope the Hall will see fit to change now.

Meanwhile, Belichick is inevitable soon … as he should be. At the risk of contradicting my own vote, really, he shouldn't even have to wait. I understand why people are offended that he isn't going in the first moment he can.

In the end, though, I felt more compelled by what I perceive to be last chances and looming lost causes within the system as we have it — a system I hope the Hall will see fit to change now.

Instead of considering 15 modern-era players, 3 seniors, 1 coach and 1 contributor each year, the selection committee will now consider 13 players, 1 coach and 1 contributor.

It's unclear how that change will work in practice, but you would imagine next year's 25 voters (three selection committee members will be non-voting each year) will be taking the coach vote quite seriously.