Bill Belichick is one of the most successful coaches in NFL history.

He won’t be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

ESPN broke the news Tuesday that Belichick won’t be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Multiple media outlets have since confirmed the report. The Hall of Fame has declined to comment on its class of 2026 before it is announced Feb. 5 at NFL Honors in San Francisco.

Belichick won six Super Bowls and nine AFC championships as head coach of the New England Patriots from 2000-2023. He’s a three-time coach of the year. He has more postseason wins (31) than any other NFL head coach and his 333 wins in the regular season and playoffs — counting his five seasons as the Cleveland Browns’ head coach from 1991-1995 — are the second most to Don Shula’s 347. He also won two Super Bowls as the New York Giants defensive coordinator.

Yet, Belichick was unable to muster the necessary 40 votes from a 50-member selection committee composed of football reporters and other prominent figures in football. The Hall of Fame called Belichick last week to inform him of the result, according to ESPN, which reported that the current North Carolina head coach was “puzzled” and “disappointed” by the outcome.

He’s not the only one who feels that way.

“I don’t understand it. I mean, I was with him every day,” former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who played 20 seasons under Belichick, told Seattle Sports 710-AM on Wednesday. “If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, there’s really no coach that should ever be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, which is completely ridiculous because people deserve it.

“He’s incredible. There’s no coach I’d rather play for. If I’m picking one coach to go out there to win a Super Bowl, give me one season, I’m taking Bill Belichick.”

Former Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson wrote on X: “As a HOF coach I think Bill Belichick is the greatest of all time…yes he had a great QB but we all did..he won AFTER THE salary cap and free agency plus I Know how much he LOVES THE NFL and the game..I’m pissed..”

Pro Football Hall of Famer and current Colorado head coach Deion Sanders wrote on X: “The Disrespect to Coach Belichick is straight out IGNORANT! He’s arguably the BEST NFL COACH TO EVER COACH THE GAME! How quickly we forget the impact Coach Belichick made on all of us!”

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes reposted the news on X and wrote, “Insane… don’t even understand how this could be possible.”

Three-time NFL defensive player of the year J.J. Watt wrote on X: “I can’t be reading this right. This has to be some knock-off Hall of Fame or something, it can’t be the actual NFL Hall of Fame. There is not a single world whatsoever in which Bill Belichick should not be a First-Ballot Hall of Famer.”

University of Washington coach Jedd Fisch posted a picture of Belichick appearing to wear all eight of his Super Bowl rings and wrote: “The idea that Coach Belichick is not a first ballot Hall of Famer is ridiculous.”

Lakers star LeBron James wrote on X: “Man there’s no way I read that right! Right? Ain’t no WAY Bill Belichick ain’t 1st Ballot HOF!! That’s IMPOSSIBLE, EGREGIOUS, and quite frankly DISRESPECTFUL!”

Two cheating scandals, known as Spygate and Deflategate, took place during Belichick’s tenure with the Patriots. He was fined $500,000 by the NFL for his alleged Spygate involvement during the 2007 season. ESPN reported that the two scandals came up during deliberations among Hall of Fame voters.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft is also on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this year.

Only three coaches have made the Hall of Fame on first ballot — Chuck Noll, Tom Landry and Shula — and they have a combined seven Super Bowl victories. Coaches George Halas and Curly Lambeau were members of the Hall’s inaugural class in 1963.

Other prominent coaches who weren’t elected the first time they were eligible, but did eventually make the cut, include Johnson, Bill Walsh and Vince Lombardi.

“He’s going to get into the Hall of Fame,” Brady said of Belichick. “In the end, I’m not worried about that. A lot of times in life for all of us things don’t happen exactly how you want them on your timeline, but we’ll all be there to celebrate him when it does happen.

“He’s gonna have a huge turnout from so many players, coaches that appreciated everything that he did and the commitment that he made to winning and the impact that he had on all our lives. And that’ll be a great celebration when it happens.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.