SAN FRANCISCO —The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 has not even been revealed yet, and it's already steeped in controversy.
That controversy has stemmed from reports that both New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick are not expected to get into the Hall of Fame in this class.
It's the first year of eligibility for Belichick, by far the most accomplished head coach in NFL history, and while Kraft has been technically eligible for years, this is the first time he has been put forward by the contributors committee as a finalist.
Most considered Belichick and lock and Kraft to be a strong candidate, so them being left out of the class has led to deep questions about the processes of the Hall of Fame and the selection committee — including from the committee itself.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers player and coach Tony Dungy , who is one two with Pittsburgh ties on the voting panel, alongside Pittsburgh Post-Gazette beat writer Gerry Dulac, said the process is holding voters back from letting more deserving candidates be recognized.
"I don't like the process the way it is now," Dungy said Tuesday in advance of Super Bowl LX in San Francisco. "I said it last year. Now, I'm not going to comment on this year's voting because I don't know who's in and who's out, but I said it last year. We changed the process last year and went to this 80% deal. … Five years ago, we had an eight-person class: five modern, one coach, one contributor, one senior. Last year, we had a four-person class: three modern, no coaches, no contributors, one senior.
"That's because we changed the voting process. I don't know what we're going to have this year, but if you don't have a full class, we've got so many people who are worthy of being in the Hall of Fame, and if we don't put a full class in, to me, that's wrong. So we'll see. I don't know who's going to be in and who isn't, but we'll see on Thursday."
The 2026 class is important to Dungy not just because he's a voter and part of the process, but also because one of his former teammates is a finalist, as well.
Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive end L.C. Greenwood is seen in 1973. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)
L.C. Greenwood was a defensive end for the Steelers from 1969-81, overlapping with Dungy in Pittsburgh from 1977-78 as a player and again in 1981 with Dungy as the team's defensive backs coach.
He's a finalist for the first time, having been overlooked for years as part of the process despite being one of the most dominant players on the team that won four Super Bowls.
"L.C. Greenwood was a special player and a special man," Dungy said. "He was a guy that I looked up to as a high schooler. And then I got to Pittsburgh and I had the chance to play alongside him. He did things at the left-end position, had to do it in our defense that no other left-ends did. He won four Super Bowl rings. He was an outstanding player."
As a voter — and a Hall of Fame member himself — Dungy said he had to be impartial about Greenwood's case, but came to the conclusion that he belongs in the Hall of Fame.
"For me to be on the voting team and have to be impartial, that's hard because he was so special to me," Dungy said. "So I had to fight my way to be impartial and put that out of my mind. But he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame."
We'll find out if Greenwood made the cut, along with former Steelers quarterbacks coach Ken Anderson former San Francisco 49ers
running back Roger Craig, who are the other senior finalists, along with the 15 modern-era finalists, during NFL Honors on Thursday.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Tony Dungy Rips HOF Voting Process, Makes Case for L.C. Greenwood
Related Headlines
