Hall of Fame eyes changes, will return to in-person voting - ESPN

The Pro Football Hall of Fame will consider making changes to the voting panel and process of choosing Hall of Famers following a year when Bill Belichick's omission from the 2026 class generated outrage.

Hall of Fame president Jim Porter said in an interview after the five-player class was announced Thursday night that there are several possible tweaks that could be made, adding that those changes aren't specific to Belichick's perceived snub.

But Porter seemed less inclined to alter a recent rule change that grouped coaches and contributors with old-time players that played a role in Belichick missing out despite winning a record six Super Bowls as head coach with the New England Patriots.

Porter said the Hall plans to return to in-person voting and discussion for the 50-member committee after moving to a virtual meeting room following the COVID-19 pandemic. He also said the vote will likely happen closer to the annual reveal at NFL Honors — the Thursday before the Super Bowl — to reduce the chances of leaks and said the Hall would consider releasing vote totals and individual ballots in the future but won't do it for this year's class.

Porter said the Hall also will look at replacing any voters who might have violated the rules either by publicly discussing the off-record debate about the candidates or by not voting for the «most deserving» candidates in each category.

«I'm not here to tell them who the most deserving is,» Porter said. «If the Hall was to tell who the most deserving is, we wouldn't need them to vote. We understand that. We just want the rules followed.»

Voter Vahe Gregorian of the Kansas City Star wrote a column explaining his reasoning for choosing seniors players Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and L.C.