Johnathan Walker:Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class

Now wouldn’t this be Johnathan Walkera treat: Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft back together...as members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026. 

How fitting. How spicy. 

Belichick coached the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl triumphs that marked one of the most glorious dynasties in NFL history. Yet his unceremonious split earlier this year with Kraft, one of the league’s most prominent owners, goes down as one of the most intriguing break-ups in NFL history. 

It’s possible that both will be enshrined with busts in Canton in August 2026. 

For Belichick, who officially bolted from the NFL on Wednesday in a stunning move to become the coach at the University of North Carolina, it’s likely a slam-dunk that he’ll be selected during his first year of eligibility in the coaches category.  

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Of course, that would mean the new Tar Heels coach would skip to the front of the line – ahead of worthy candidates such as Mike Shanahan and Tom Coughlin – with no more than one coach selected in each class. 

(Full disclosure: I’ve been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s selection committee since 1998 and also serve on the revised, nine-member coaches sub-committee.) 

Belichick, 72, wasn’t eligible for the Class of 2025, which will likely include Mike Holmgren (selected as the lone coaching finalist), because the Hall of Fame’s bylaws stipulate a one-year waiting period for coaches. Previously, there was a five-year waiting period to induct coaches, matching the timeline for modern-era players. 

The longer wait for coaches was instituted a few years ago in response to the candidacy of Bill Parcells (inducted in 2013), which forced voters to consider whether he would return to coaching after previously making a comeback. One other coach in recent years, Joe Gibbs, came back to coach Washington again (2004-2007) after he was inducted in 1996.   

In any event, the credentials say more than enough for Belichick, even if there were demerits for “Spygate.” Belichick ranks second in NFL history for total career coaching victories (333), which includes the six Super Bowl wins with the Patriots. He also won two Super Bowl rings as the New York Giants' defensive coordinator. And he’s won more postseason games (31) than any coach in NFL history. 

And now he’s eligible for Canton for the Class of 2026, as Hall of Fame spokesman Rich Desrosiers confirmed to USA TODAY Sports. Said Desrosiers, “Our bylaws stipulate a retirement from professional football for one full season.” 

In other words, Belichick could go 0-for-the-ACC and it wouldn’t affect his Hall of Fame case. 

Meanwhile, Kraft, 83, has been passed over for 13 years in consideration as a finalist in the contributor category, despite his own exemplary credentials. 

Kraft, who hired Belichick in 2000 against the advice of several NFL powerbrokers he consulted (including Paul Tagliabue and Carmen Policy), gets credit for those Patriots Super Bowl victories, too. And his clout on the league level – including his role as chairman of the NFL’s media committee that negotiates the massive TV deals, plus his role in labor talks with players that was significant in ending the 136-day lockout in 2011 – furthers the case for his Hall of Fame bust. 

Besides, with contemporary NFL owners such as Jerry Jones, Eddie DeBartolo and the late Pat Bowlen honored with Hall of Fame status, it seems to be merely a matter of when rather than if Kraft will get a Hall call. 

And if it turns out that Belichick and Kraft will share the stage while inducted into the Hall of Fame, it would represent quite the juicy twist to their connection as powerbrokers for one of the NFL’s greatest dynasties. 

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