Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft, two of the key pillars in the New England Patriots’ dynasty, were picked as finalists for the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
Belichick was picked as the coaching candidate and Kraft was picked as the contributor in results announced Wednesday. Three senior candidates also made the final stage with Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and L.C. Greenwood all advancing.
The members of the 50-person selection committee can vote for three of the finalists under rules put in place last year with candidates needing 80% of the votes to make it into the Hall. A maximum of three candidates can reach that threshold. If no candidate gets 80%, the top vote getter will be elected.
The committee will also vote on 15 modern-era finalists that are still to be determined with between three and five of those candidates guaranteed to get into the Hall.
Belichick was hired by Kraft in 2000 and led the franchise to six Super Bowl wins titles and three other appearances in the title game during an 18-year span from 2001-18. Belichick’s 333 wins in the regular season and playoffs with New England and Cleveland are the second most to Don Shula’s 347. He won AP NFL Coach of the Year three times.
Belichick also was one of the game’s top defensive assistants before taking over New England, winning two more Super Bowls as defensive coordinator for the New York Giants.
Belichick’s career did have blemishes. He was implicated in a sign-stealing scandal dubbed “Spygate” in the 2007 season and was fined $500,000 after the team was caught filming defensive signals from the New York Jets during a game.
Belichick’s tenure in New England ended following the 2023 season and he just finished his first year coaching in college at North Carolina.
Kraft bought the Patriots in 1994 with the team’s 10 Super Bowl appearances since then the most for any owner in NFL history. The team went to the Super Bowl in his third season under Bill Parcells and then nine more times with Belichick as coach.
Kraft has been a member on several NFL ownership committees and played a key role in resolving the 2011 lockout.
Anderson was a four-time Pro Bowler for Cincinnati and won the MVP in 1981, when he helped the Bengals reach their first Super Bowl before losing to San Francisco. When Anderson retired after the 1986 season, he ranked sixth all time with 32,838 yards passing and 13th with 197 TD passes.
Craig was a key part of San Francisco’s dynasty in the 1980s with his ability as a physical runner and as a receiver out of the backfield. Craig was the first player ever to have 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in the same season, which happened in 1985, and he led the NFL with 2,036 yards from scrimmage in 1988 when he helped the 49ers win the Super Bowl.
Craig also was part of the title-winning teams in San Francisco in the 1984 and 1989 seasons. His 410 yards from scrimmage in those Super Bowl wins are the third-most ever behind Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Franco Harris.
Greenwood is the most prominent member of the Steelers dominant defense that helped the franchise win four Super Bowl titles in a span of six seasons from 1974-79 who is not in the Hall. Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, Donnie Shell and Mel Blount have already been inducted.
Greenwood was a member of the all-decade team for the 1970s, was a two-time All-Pro and made six Pro Bowls in a 13-year career. He retired a year before sacks became an official stat but research from Pro Football Reference credits him with 78 over his career as a defensive end on those teams.
Among the candidates that didn’t advance from the semifinal stage are two-time Super Bowl-winning coaches Tom Coughlin, Mike Shanahan and George Seifert; Houston Oilers founder and key AFL figure Bud Adams; and former AFL star receiver Otis Taylor and Buffalo Bills special teams standout Steve Tasker.
Story by Josh Dubow.
