Commentary: How Many

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There’s so much to be dissected with Wednesday’s news that Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft are finalists for the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

At first glance, why are they even voting on it? Belichick won six Super Bowls as head coach of the New England Patriots and two more on the staff of the New York Giants.

Kraft’s the owner of the Patriots, who have appeared in 10 Super Bowls under his watch. Look it up; that’s the most of any owner in NFL history. This is what they call a “shoo-in”.

Yet upon closer inspection, Belichick was disciplined for his role in “Spygate” years ago and had to have had a hand in Tom Brady’s infamous “Deflategate” scandal a few years later.

Belichick mentioned in a statement Wednesday that he spent 49 years in the NFL which is staggering. Yet he’s in college football now at North Carolina, rumored to be there because he’s been blackballed in the NFL.

Why? If anyone knows for sure, they’re not saying.

One thing I’ve heard out of Chapel Hill is that Belichick staffer Chris Jones gets to the facility daily at 5:00 a.m., and Belichick’s already beat him by an hour.

If there was a Hall of Fame for hard workers, Belichick would assuredly be in it. Maybe that’s what Canton is?

Kraft’s had his share of transgressions too, but it appears the NFL and Pro Football Hall of Fame are willing to forgive that. Not only have his teams appeared in 10 Super Bowls and won six, if you look at the NFL standings today, the Patriots are on top. And that’s without Belichick and Brady.

That’s purely remarkable.

I think a lot of us would like to sit down with the man and pick his brain on his secret to success. Maybe he’ll divulge it in his induction speech. All of this proves, “They don’t ask how, they ask how many.”

And with this news, maybe there’s hope for us all.

That’s today’s Rod Pedersen Commentary.

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