Patriots Legend Bill Belichick Advances in Hall of Fame Voting

The Pro Football Hall of Fame continues to dwindle each of its various ballots down ahead of the induction for the Class of 2026, and two former of the Boston/New England Patriots have advanced into the next round of voting.

Former head coach Bill Belichick and former linebacker Marty Schottenheimer have both moved onto the next round en route what could be an induction into the annals of pro football's greatest honor. The two men have two very different paths when it comes to their relation with Patriots football.

Belichick's resume speaks for itself. He was a position coach for the Patriots in 1996 before leaving to take a job with the New York Jets. After getting traded back to New England, his legacy skyrocketed. He helped build six Super Bowl championship teams, and his 333 career wins between the regular season and postseason is second most in NFL history.

Will Bill Belichick Get Inducted In His First Year Of Eligibility?

This is the first time that head coaches have been broken up into different categories for voting. In the past, coaches had been lumped together in the contributors category — pitting them against front office personnel, officials, owners and other non-player nominees. This is the first year that coaches are on a separate ballot, and this is also the first year of Belichick's eligibility as a potential inductee.

While he still remains in the coaching game at the college level with UNC, his success at the NFL is enough to make him a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Sept. 17, 2006; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers head coach Marty Schottenheimer talks with quarterback (17) Philip Rivers against the Tennessee Titans at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, CA. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images © 2006 Mark J. Rebilas | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Schottenheimer, on the other hand, made his money as a head coach, but not with the Patriots. He spent two seasons in uniform with the Patriots — at that time, the Boston Patriots of the AFL. The linebacker later played for the Buffalo Bills, but soon became a Canton-worthy head coach that won 205 games during four different stints across the league.

It's likely that the Patriots will have one, if not many, inductees this upcoming winter. The other coaching semifinalists include Tom Coughlin (who beat Belichick twice in Super Bowls as the head coach of the New York Giants), Mike Holmgren, Chuck Knox, Buddy Parker, Dan Reeves, George Seifert and Mike Shanahan.

Other Patriots players who are still eligible for induction for their contributions to the game in uniform include running backs Chuck Foreman and Fred Taylor, wide receivers Torry Holt, Reggie Wayne, Stanley Morgan, Henry Ellard and Harold Jackson, guard Logan Mankins, defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, linebacker James Harrison, defensive backs Asante Samuel and Rodney Harrison, kicker Adam Vinatieri and front office personnel Robert Kraft (owner) and Bucko Kilroy (general manager).

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