Booger McFarland reacts to Bill Belichick Hall of Fame snub: 'It's a disgrace'

After news broke that Bill Belichick is not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, the reactions poured in from across the football world. That includes from ESPN’s Booger McFarland on social media.

McFarland called it a “disgrace” that Belichick will not get in on the first ballot. ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham first reported the legendary New England Patriots coach would not get in this year and received a call last week about it.

“It’s a disgrace to the game of football for this to happen,” McFarland wrote on X shortly after the news broke Tuesday.

Belichick was informed of the Hall of Fame’s decision last Friday and was “puzzled” and “disappointed” after failing to get 80% of the votes, ESPN reported. The full list of inductees is set to be announced next week ahead of Super Bowl LX.

There was a sense of shock about Belichick’s absence from the ballot. That includes longtime voter Peter King, who didn’t cast a ballot this year but expressed his surprise while speaking with ESPN about the decision.

“Holy f—! Oh f—! … I’m very, very surprised,” King said.

The committee is largely made up of veteran reporters, as well as prominent figures such as Bill Polian and Tony Dungy. Additionally, ESPN reported Spygate and Deflategate may have played roles in the voters’ decision. Polian was a key voice in the conversations around Belichick’s candidacy and suggested the voters “wait a year” before electing him, according to ESPN.

Belichick spent 24 seasons as the Patriots’ head coach, leading the franchise to six Super Bowls during that time. He departed after the 2023 season and later became the head coach at North Carolina, where he took over for Mack Brown in 2025.

Across his career as a head coach with the Patriots and assistant coach with the New York Giants, Belichick won eight Super Bowls. He became regarded as one of the top coaches of all-time, and 2026 marked his first year on the Hall of Fame ballot.

On the whole, during his legendary coaching career, Bill Belichick had a 302-165 overall record to go with a 31-13 mark in the postseason. His 302 regular-season wins put him third all-time behind George Halas (318) and Don Shula (328) on the all-time winningest coaches list. Counting the postseason, Belichick sits just behind Shula’s 347 total victories on the all-time list.