Longtime Patriots coach and current North Carolina Tar Heels leader Bill Belichick was announced as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026, alongside his former boss, New England owner Robert Kraft. Among the others in the coach/contributor category are Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and L.C. Greenwood.
Following Wednesday’s announcement, the 73-year-old took to Instagram to relay a humbling thank you for the honor, and notably shouted out both Kraft and the Patriots, who fired him from his perch as New England coach just under two years ago.
Here’s a look at the message:
”Congratulations to the other finalists Roger Craig, Kenny Anderson, L.G. Greenwood, and of course, Robert Kraft,” he continued. ”I hope to see all of the deserving Patriots selected this year.”
For context, in addition to Kraft and Belichick, six former Patriots players were named semifinalists for the Class of 2026 last month: Adam Vinatieri, Rodney Harrison, Vince Wilfork, Fred Taylor, Torry Holt and Reggie Wayne.
A look at Bill Belichick’s relationship with Robert Kraft, the Patriots
Kraft and Belichick have had a rather public falling out over the last several years, which makes his shoutout in Wednesday’s social media post that much more notable.
After what was originally deemed a “mutual parting of ways,” Kraft went on The Breakfast Club last October and admitted that he did, in fact, fire Belichick from his position with the Patriots, but tried to do it in a “classy way.”
Then, the owner told former New England players Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski on their Dudes on Dudes podcast this summer on their podcast that he “took a big risk” when hiring Belichick back in 2000—a quip the coach quickly responded to, saying that it was he who took the risk.
”As I told Robert multiple times through the years, I took a big risk by taking the New England Patriots head coaching job,” Belichick told ESPN's Don Van Natta. ”I already had an opportunity to be the head coach of the New York Jets, but the ownership situation was unstable.”
MORE: Bill Belichick Timeline: From Patriots Firing to Most Recent North Carolina Turmoil
But that’s not all. Amid his trying first season as coach at North Carolina, Belichick confirmed a report that he had banned Patriots scouts from attended Tar Heels practices, saying “It's clear I'm not welcome there at their facility. So they're not welcome at ours. It’s pretty simple.”
For what it’s worth, it's been made pretty clear that Belichick is very much welcome in New England. Not only did he attend Brady’s Patriots Hall of Fame ceremony last June—and give a killer speech—but owner Kraft also said earlier this year that he intends to build a statue of him next to Brady’s in the Gillette Stadium plaza once he’s done coaching.
At any rate, his message on Wednesday signals, at the very least, that he’s willing to play nice with his former boss. Now we wait and see whether the two will be gracing the same stage at Canton, Ohio's Pro Football Hall of Fame next August.
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bill Belichick Gave Surprising Nod to Robert Kraft, Patriots After Hall of Fame Nomination.
