Dan Orlovsky calls for Pro Football Hall of Fame to adjust process and enshrine Bill Belichick

Dan Orlovsky typically isn’t one for participation trophies. But when it comes to Bill Belichick being snubbed as a first-ballot selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the ESPN analyst would like to see a do-over.

Appearing on Thursday’s episode of First Take, Orlovsky discussed Belichick’s shocking omission from this year’s Hall of Fame class. And considering the overwhelming amount of evidence that would indicate the 6-time Super Bowl-winning head coach belongs in Canton, the ex-NFL quarterback believes the Hall of Fame should reconsider its process and do whatever it takes to account for the apparent error.

“What a great opportunity for the Hall of Fame to make it right,” he said. “This isn’t the participation trophy thing people are throwing out there. There’s a new voting process. It obviously is flawed. Why can’t the Hall of Fame take a step back and be like, ‘let’s check what actually happened here and make this right?'”

Dan Orlovsky calls for the Pro Football Hall of Fame to adjust its process to put Bill Belichick in the Hall of Fame.

“Why can’t the Hall of Fame do the right thing and realize the egregious mistake that has happened?” pic.twitter.com/gj05PEavfX

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 29, 2026

Orlovsky proceeded to note that the vast majority of voters who left Belichick off their ballot have yet to explain themselves. And the one that has pointed to the seemingly flawed process, which forced him to choose between voting for Belichick or letting other deserving candidates potentially lose their eligibility moving forward.

But regardless of the reasoning, Orlovsky — and most football fans and observers — believe that North Carolina’s current head coach not being a first-ballot selection is nothing short of egregious. And considering the potential precedent is could set for other deserving candidates such as Tom Brady down the road, the former UConn star believes that the Hall of Fame would be best served issuing a correction sooner rather than later.

“I understand that everyone’s up in this uproar of like, ‘no, you can’t go back to vote.’ Why not?” Orlovsky asked. “Why can’t the Hall of Fame do the right thing and realize the egregious mistake that has happened? Unless those voters come out and justify there for a reason for not putting him in, then either take their vote away or or rectify the situation.”