Pro Football Hall Of Fame: New Changes Benefit Coaches

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced a series of changes on Friday. One of the amendments involves coaches’ eligibility.

Coaching Changes For Hall Of Fame

Under the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s new bylaws, the waiting period for coaches has been reduced from five seasons spent out of the league to one season.

With the new rules, two coaches will be eligible for enshrinement in 2026: Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll.

Other changes to the Hall of Fame’s bylaws included the separation of the coach and contributor categories.

Two new screening committees—one for modern-era players and one for seniors—were created, to narrow the lists of candidates to 50 before reaching the official selection committee.

Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll Hall Of Fame Cases

Belichick’s case is easy. If Belichick is not coaching a team next season, he will be in the Hall of Fame. No questions asked.

Belichick is the second-winningest head coach of all time with 333 victories (regular seasons and playoffs). Only Don Shula (349) has more wins than Belichick.

Belichick is an 8-time Super Bowl winner—6 as a head coach with the Patriots and two as the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants.

Arguably the greatest coach ever, Belichick has the most playoff wins as a head coach (31), the most Super Bowl appearances (12), and the most division titles as a head coach (17).

Belichick and the New England Patriots agreed to part ways after 24 seasons. If Belichick does not get another head coaching job next offseason, he will unquestionably be enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2026.

If Belichick takes a job next offseason, the next coach up for that spot could be Carroll.

After struggling in the 1990s as the Patriots’ head coach, Carroll built a dynasty in the 2000s with USC. In 2010, Carroll left USC for the Seattle Seahawks to become their head coach.

In Carroll’s third season, the Seahawks dismantled the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII for the franchise’s first championship. Carroll led the Seahawks to the Super Bowl the following season but ultimately fell to Belichick’s Patriots on a late-game interception by Malcolm Butler.

Carroll’s NFL head coaching record (regular season and postseason) is 147-97-1.

In January, Carroll and the Seahawks mutually agreed that he would step down from his head coaching role to become a team advisor.

Carroll making the Hall of Fame on the first ballot isn’t a shoo-in. However, he will likely get in at some point.