Bill Belichick has two former players who are eligible for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022. The Patriots coach, however, said that he does not know how he can help bolster either players' case for induction.
Belichick cited the Hall of Fame's lack of criteria when asked about the candidacy of former Patriots Richard Seymour and Vince Wilfork, who recently made the cut as the 26 semifinalists for induction in 2022. The Hall of Fame's selection committee will cut the list to 15 finalists before voting on next year's induction class during Super Bowl week. Belichick, who was part of the committee who voted on the NFL's 100th Anniversary Team, feels that there must be a better way to determine who is ultimately given a gold jacket and a bronze bust in Canton, Ohio.
"The Hall of Fame's out of my control, and since there's no criteria for the Hall of Fame, it's really hard to even have a conversation about it because it's not based on anything," Belichick said, via Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald. "It's your opinion on a great player, my opinion on a great player, somebody else's opinion on a great player. I don't know what that means.
"When there's no criteria, you can make a case for everybody."
Belichick is accurate in his assessment of the Hall of Fame's selection process. While statistics, championships and individual accolades clearly go into the evaluation, there is no official criteria when determining a player's Hall of Fame merits. And while baseball has more concrete milestones to lean on (3,000 hits, 500 home runs, 300 wins, etc.), pro football's more rapid evolution -- especially on the offensive side -- has made it harder to determine which players are worthy of Hall of Fame inclusion.
The lack of Patriots currently in Canton may be part of Belichick's decision to publicly criticize the Hall of Fame's selection. Despite their two-decade dominance, former safety Ty Law is the only member of the Patriots' dynasty who spent more than half of his career with the franchise who is in the Hall of Fame. Other longtime Patriots players who put together careers worthy of Hall of Fame consideration -- a list that includes Seymour, Wilfork, Logan Mankins, Rodney Harrison, and Tedy Bruschi -- are awaiting calls that may never end up coming.
