But here’s how it unfolded for me during a discussion I entered with an open mind for the third spot, while figuring I’d definitely vote for Belichick and Craig, the trailblazing three-time Super Bowl champion who was on the NFL All-Decade team in the 1980s. (When I became a Hall of Fame voter in 2021, I was astonished to realize Craig wasn’t already in.)
As the presentations and discussions proceeded, I found myself wanting to vote for all five — including Steelers great Greenwood, a four-time Super Bowl champ who was All-Decade in the 1970s, and Bengals quarterback Anderson, the 1981 MVP who led the league in passer rating four times. All three have been long deserving of induction in the Hall. All three have been, well, snubbed for decades. As it came time to cast the vote, I found myself thinking not just of them but of the experiences of recent senior semifinalists and finalists who didn’t make it.
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In the last two years, under the new system fused together with the coach and contributor candidates, only three of the six senior nominees have made it through to the Hall. None of the three who were stopped short, including Tyrer, resurfaced on the next year’s ballot. All of that went into why I felt duty-bound to vote for the richly deserving seniors, who most likely won’t ever have a hearing again as more senior candidates enter the pool and fresh cases get made for others.
Meanwhile, Belichick is inevitable soon … as he should be. At the risk of contradicting my own vote, really, he shouldn’t even have to wait. I understand why people are offended that he isn’t going in the first moment he can. In the end, though, I felt more compelled by what I perceive to be last chances and looming lost causes within the system as we have it — a system I hope the Hall will see fit to change now.
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