The NFL has had long-standing rules for getting into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Namely, that it takes five years after retirement, before becoming eligible to enter the Hall. However, there has been a major rule change that will impact some of the greatest coaches of all time specifically.
Pro Football Hall of Fame Announces Major Rule Change
This past Friday, the Hall of Fame announced many new revisions to their selection process which happens every year. Many minor changes have been made, including the formation of new committees and the separation of numerous categories. However, the most newsworthy change has to do with coaches.
Both Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll will have the opportunity to enter the Hall of Fame much sooner than everyone thought. The five years of waiting after retirement has been officially reduced by the league.
Under the new rules, coaches will no longer have to wait for five years. They will now only need one year after retirement to be eligible! This means that both Belichick and Carroll could enter the Hall in just a few months!
“Also, the waiting period for Coach candidates has been reduced from five seasons out of the game to one season. (No waiting period exists for Contributor candidates.),” the Hall of Fame said in their statement.
Both of these head coaches are sure first-ballot men to enter the Hall, and now that the new laws allow for only one year of removal from the league, we could easily see both of them enter the greatest group of football men of all time. For Belichick however, the question will be if he will return to the league to coach.
One of his former players says that he’s coming back next year to coach no matter what.
Former Player Says Bill Belichick Is Coming Back
As discussed on Gridiron Heroics previously, there is one of Belichick’s former players who has been vocal about where his former coach will go next year:
Asante Samuel, who had some of his best years with the Patriots including two Super Bowl Championships, was speculating on where he thinks the coach will go and there is only one team in his mind that fits the bill.
Samuel feels that the Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wants the all-time coach in Dallas for 2025. Jerry has always been a brilliant marketer of his franchise which has been one of the many driving forces in the Cowboys becoming the wealthiest evaluated sports franchise in the world. There would be nothing better for viewership than if we saw a Jones and Belichick team up in 2025.
The former elite cornerback feels the same although he wonders if Bill has been affected by the way that the team has dealt with their star players this offseason.
“Jerry Jones, he loves his players. He treats them right. Something’s going on this year. And I think that leads to next year, to say Bill Belichick will be the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys,” Samuel said on ESPN Radio, via Get Up. “And it ultimately comes down to Jerry Jones, and Jerry Jones wants to win a [Super] Bowl. For him to get that Bowl, his options are running out. And that last option for him to make this thing come to light is Bill Belichick.”
Belichick will be in many medial roles for this season before he will try to make a comeback to the NFL.
Related: Former NFL and New England Patriots Star Claims He Knows Where Bill Belichick Will Coach In 2025
