The Buffalo Bills struggled to get the better of Bill Belichick during his time leading the New England Patriots, but one legendary Bills front office member may have denied him a huge honor.
Belichick reportedly fell short of reaching the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first ballot, a move that sent shockwaves around the NFL world. Belichick is one of the most accomplished coaches of all time and holds the record for Super Bowl wins, but must wait another year for his chance to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
A pair of insiders reported that longtime Bills general manager Bill Polian may have played a role in the surprising decision.
Bill Polian Reportedly Wanted Bill Belichick to Wait
Polian was a longtime general manager with the Bills and the architect of the Super Bowl teams of the early 1990s, then later became a chief rival to Belichick as the general manager and team president of the Indianapolis Colts.
The 83-year-old Polian now serves on the Hall of Fame committee along with legendary coach Tony Dungy, and reportedly pushed members to make Belichick wait a year. ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickhersham reported that Polian felt Belichick should serve some kind of punishment for his team’s scandals.
“Multiple sources told ESPN that Spygate and Deflategate, the twin cheating scandals during the Patriots’ championship run, came up in deliberations among voters,” their report noted. “A voter who spoke on condition of anonymity said that [Bill] Polian, an ardent Kraft supporter and former general manager of the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts — a chief Patriots rival during their dynasty — told some voters he believed Belichick should ‘wait a year’ before induction as penance for Spygate, the 2007 cheating scandal that cost the team a first-round draft pick. Commissioner Roger Goodell also fined the Patriots $500,000 and fined Belichick $250,000.”
A source told the reporters that the “cheating stuff” was a major factor, noting that “it really bothered some of the guys.”
Though Belichick joined the Patriots long after Polian’s tenure in Buffalo ended, the Patriots coach was a thorn in the Bills’ side. Belichick held a 36-8 career record against the Bills, including a 19-3 record in games played in Buffalo.
The Bills did end on something of a high note, holding a 7-2 overall record against Belichick since Tom Brady’s departure following the 2019 season. That stretch included a 47-17 victory in the 2021 NFL playoffs, a game where Josh Allen led the team to touchdowns on all seven drives.
Bill Polian Denied Keeping Patriots Coach Out
Polian spoke to ESPN in the hours after reports first emerged that Belichick fell short of the Hall of Fame, noting that he defended Patriots owner Robert Kraft during the Spygate scandal and denying telling voters that Belichick should remain out of the Hall of Fame for one year.
“I was shocked to learn Bill didn’t get in,” Polian said. “He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.”
Polian himself couldn’t remember if he voted for Belichick or not, telling ESPN, “he was 95% sure he voted for the coach.”
Legendary Bills GM Played Role in Bill Belichick’s Hall of Fame Snub: Insider