By John Turney 
Media reports contend Robert Kraft will join Bill Belichick on the sidelines when the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 is announced Thursday at the NFL Honors show. And the Patriots are not pleased. The fans, the coaches, the organization, you know, everyone.
With the Patriots in the Super Bowl this year, it is a letdown for Pats Nation to say the least.
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| Patriots Coach Mike Vrabel commenting on the Kraft "snub" |
Here is the complete answer Vrabel gave today:
Q: Robert Kraft has been eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for more than a decade now, and he's still on the outside looking in. Your reaction to that?
MV: I would just say that that's unfortunate. I would say that in my experiences with Robert, he's more than deserving and he'll be in the Hall of Fame. I'm not in charge of deciding when that happens. So, I appreciate the relationship that I've had with him and the success as a player, and now as a coach. So, he's done everything that we've needed and provided the support that we've needed as a staff and as a team. So, I'm glad that he's back here and continuing to help us do things that will help the team win, and ultimately allow him to be recognized.
His comments likely echo those of the Patriots organization and fanbase, too.
Also to consider: We can probably assume Kraft and Belichick, to some extent, split the "Patriots" vote, meaning that given the zero-sum voting in the new process, caused some voters to pick either Kraft or Belichick rather than both. But there was some sentiment (a lot?) that there should be more accountability for the alleged cheating that the club was punished for over the years.
A kind of double jeopardy in a way. Regardless, if the media reports are to be believed, both are out of the running.
Speaking to some voters, we've found defensiveness for those who voted against, "How many games did Belichick win that was a result of cheating?" To the "We deserve the heat we are getting. The committee made a mistake and we are reaping the wrath."
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| Robert Kraft (right) at Patriots' 2026 Media Night |
Yes, to some, the Hall is burning. And that is my interest in this. The damage to the institution. A coach or owner getting refused is not a huge deal to us, unless it is an icon, and in our view, Belichick is exactly that.
We simply care about the Hall, it's specialness, it's reputation, the thing that it is. It's not about "your" guys getting it. It's about the best of the best and anything that gets away from that hurts the Hall.
As not what the Hall can do for you but what you can do for the Hall. In this case, avoiding this controversy would have been better. At least in our view.
John: the Hall has no one to blame but itself. There was an established method for electing candidates. It may have resulted in less coaches and contributors, but the best of the best still got in. In an effort to "do right" by the coaches and contributors, it created new paths for their election. In doing so, the Hall had to know that it "lowering the bar" for election. That isn't a value judgment. Just stating a fact. Then suddenly Deion Sanders made some comments to Peter King about the Hall of Fame not being exclusive enough. The Hall, seemingly agreeing, created a newer system to make the Hall more exclusive, apparently rejecting its earlier goals. Yet, in doing s0, the Hall has both cheapened earlier inductions--i.e., if Belichick can't be voted in, how can Vermeil and Flores be real HOFers--and unnecessarily pulled the rug out from under the current candidates. Two of Luke Kuechly, Torry Holt, Adam Vinatieri, and Willie Anderson should already have gold jackets. Likely we'll lose two more modern slots this year if we only get a three man modern class. The voters are not to blame. The process is. And the Hall created the process. They can correct it anytime they want.
ReplyDeleteYou outline it nicely. I think there will be change soon. Very soon.
DeleteI hope you are right John. As I mentioned a while ago on Zoneblitz, the best thing that could happen for the process was for either Belichick or Kraft to be "snubbed" this year. But I never thought it would be both of them.
DeleteBW ...
DeleteIts just kinda crazy that these last two years, we may just see two seniors get elected, Sharpe and Craig/Greenwood but no Holmgren or Belichick?
Kraft could win his seventh SB, but cant get elected, while Jerry Jones gets elected despite his team not making an NFC Championship game since 1996.
can someone explain WHAT (post-pioneers) owners do/have done to merit induction??....just because Jerry (ugh!) Jones is adept at making money (vacuuming up $$ from fans), what actual contribution has he made to pro football?...Robert (strip mall Kraft?....somebody please enlighten me?
ReplyDeleteunderstanding that this year's process is beyond flawed, any voter who decided that (insert name of senior player) is more deserving of HoF than Belichcik should have his voting rights revoked.....
ReplyDeleteKraft isn’t nearly the snub Belichick is. Some people simply don’t have a strong appetite for owners in the HOF. It’s just coincidental they came up the same year, so people are linking the two, when it’s really two separate things. Plus, Kraft has campaigned to put himself in, where BB did nothing to put himself in other than win like a mofo.
ReplyDeletefrom my non-voter but interested perspective, it's mot about "strong appetite"....it's about "w-t-f" did these billionaires (bias presumably identified) fatcats do to ACTUALLY affect/improve pro football other than fattening their wallets......<full disclosure: I am not opposed in a free market to Craft/Jones/Rosenbloom? (or even the ridiculously inept "on the field" but "in the Boardroom" Bidwells making a profit....but HoF?
DeleteWHY??????
If all three senior players get in I'll take it as ridiculous is this whole sham is.
ReplyDeleteBill B. not getting in is a farce. But not Kraft. Someone please tell me what Bob Kraft has done to merit induction? I’m not opposed to owners going in the Hall per se…guys like George Halas and Lamar Hunt literally built the league.
ReplyDeleteBut Kraft? Give me a break.
BW ...
DeleteAt least Kraft's team won championships. This was a team that never had strong ownership before but had a strong executive in Kilroy and good coach in Fairbanks to keep the fans dedicated to their team for stretches. Its amazing they won at all in the 60s, 70s and 80s with the Sullivan family paying the players peanuts.
Jerry Jones gets elected despite having three of his championships basically from the same coach he would fire, five years into his ownership. The team hasnt done anything since. DeBartalo threw money at the 49ers players that helped them win SBs, but drove his head coaches crazy before being banned from owning his own team. He gets elected while the other owners have disdain for his sister - the York's ownership. Why are Bowlen and Ralph Wilson in the HOF? At least Wilson helped keep the Raiders team afloat before Wayne Valley--an underrated owner--turned them into a powerhouse, where he took Al Davis back to the team after the merger agreement. Had he not done that, Davis might not have had his deserving HOF career?
I do understand the INITIAL, NFL owners making the HOF, even Ralph Hay has an argument, but other than Davis and Hunt later on, I dont buy all these other owners and sons being elected. Once Kraft is elected, hopefully the door will be closed on any more owners but its extremely doubtful. Right Jim? ... haha