Gronk Could Now Be Correct About Chiefs’ Reid

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Rob Gronkowski said this week that if Bill Belichick isn’t a first-ballot Hall of Famer, neither is Andy Reid.

Gronkowski might actually be correct – if the process doesn’t change.

“Coach Belichick needs to be in the Hall of Fame,” Gronkowski told Front Office Sports on Tuesday, “and it needed to be a first-ballot. Now there’s no such thing as a first-ballot Hall of Fame coach. No other coach ever in history should go first-ballot. There’s a guy out there, Andy Reid, but he can’t go first-ballot now because Coach Belichick wasn’t first-ballot.”

That guy out there, now the NFL’s longest-tenured active head coach, might join Belichick as a first-ballot snub. Based on an Associated Press interview after Thursday’s NFL Honors ceremony, Reid could fall victim to the same fate the year after he’s no longer in the league.

reid, belichic — Aug 22, 2008; Foxboro, MA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid and New England Patriots Bill Belichick shake hands after the preseason game at Gillette Stadium. Philadelphia won 27-17. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images | James Lang-Imagn Images

Hall of Fame president speaks to Associated Press

On Thursday night, Hall of Fame president Jim Porter said he expects changes to logistics, timing and administration, but seemed to hint that the actual process may not change after all.

“I’m not here to tell them who the most deserving is,” Porter told NFL writer Josh Dubow following Thursday night’s NFL Honors. “If the Hall was to tell who the most deserving is, we wouldn’t need them to vote. We understand that. We just want the rules followed.”

andy reid — Dec 21, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid before a game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

In other words, Porter seemed more focused on Hall of Fame selectors following rules stated in the bylaws than revising the process. That process, changed in 2024, now groups coaches and contributors with a “senior” class of players (once referred to as old-timers), some of whom are given their final opportunity to earn enshrinement.

That class of players is different than the modern-era player finalists, which includes the more recently retired stars. For example, the Class of 2026 -- announced Thursday night as Drew Brees, Roger Craig, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri – includes four modern-era entries and one senior player, Craig.

Craig, highly deserving of enshrinement, played 10 NFL seasons and earned three Super Bowl rings, all with the dominant 49ers teams of the 1980s. In 1985, he became first single-season player ever to register 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving. Unfortunately for Craig, his enshrinement will be overshadowed by the fact that Belichick didn't get in.

Because the process reduces the candidate field to a five finalists that can only include one coach (i.e. Belichick), one contributor (i.e. Patriots owner Robert Kraft) and three senior players (Craig, L.C. Greenwood and Ken Anderson this year) -- and selectors are charged with voting for only three of the five on that portion of the ballot – the same thing could easily happen to Reid.

Belichick won six Super Bowls as a head coach and two more as a coordinator. Not to be overlooked, Kraft, who hired Belichick, has overseen a franchise that will play in its 11th Super Bowl during his ownership (1994-present).

The voting process led to several selectors opting to vote for senior players on their last opportunity for induction, rather than choices such as Belichick and Kraft.

Porter told Dubow, however, that selectors were told to vote for the three highest-quality candidates, regardless of whether those candidates were on their last chance. Apparently, he blamed the selectors, not the process.

“That’s not an option,” Porter told Dubow of voting for candidates on their last chance. “You have to pick the most deserving. Those are the instructions that were read four times.”

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