Bill Polian is going on the offensive after recent reports suggesting he spearheaded a campaign to keep Bill Belichick from being a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
The former Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills general manager appeared on SiriusXM NFL Radio on Wednesday to set the record straight: he voted for Bill Belichick’s inclusion into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He said the same thing to Sports Illustrated on Tuesday night, right after ESPN’s initial report indicated that he played a role in (at least temporarily) keeping Belichick out of Canton. Shortly after, Polian tempered those remarks, saying he couldn’t remember with 100% certainty that he voted for the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach.
It seems at some point on Wednesday, Polian received confirmation from the Pro Football Hall of Fame itself that he voted for Belichick.
Bill Polian discussed his vote for Bill Belichick in the Hall of Fame selection process.
Hear the full interview now⬇️
🔊https://t.co/yw1u6C7rzt pic.twitter.com/kIK2ILhSQi
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) January 28, 2026
“I voted for coach Belichick in the Hall of Fame selection meeting,” Polian said, reading from a statement. “The Pro Football Hall of Fame has confirmed that fact through the auditors of the selection process. Again, I’ll state that I never said that I believe that coach Belichick should ‘wait a year’ for enshrinement. This has been confirmed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, numerous selectors who were in the room, and my vote for coach Belichick. As a Hall of Fame member and selector, I realize the import of what we do. I’ve always tried as a selector to make these difficult choices with the utmost of objectivity. I’ve said on SiriusXM radio and numerous other media outlets that I believe coach Belichick to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and my vote confirms that.”
Polian’s statement should put to rest any suggestion that he didn’t vote for Belichick himself. What’s still in question is whether or not he engaged in discussions, or in any other way influenced voters, to leave Belichick off their ballots.
It’s possible that 11 or more of the 50 Pro Football Hall of Fame voters chose not to select Belichick, either because they figured everyone else would vote for him and they wanted to allocate their vote to someone else, or as a form of retribution for past scandals like Spygate and Deflategate, as were mentioned in the initial ESPN report.
Whatever the case, Polian is going to great lengths to disassociate himself from what has quickly become a scandal unto itself. Given that ballots are cast anonymously, it’s likely we’ll never know exactly who left Belichick off their list.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.