Inside Bill Belichick’s Hall of Fame snub & early Super Bowl bold predictions

Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

The Super Bowl countdown is officially on, and that’s because it’s T-minus 10 days until the Big Game at Levi’s Stadium. The Seahawks and Patriots will be headed to California this weekend, and in equally big news, I’ll also be headed to the West Coast. I’ll be in San Francisco all week, and yes, I fully plan on re-enacting the opening credits of “Full House” with any strangers I can find who are willing to participate.

Anyway, this means that the newsletter will be coming to you live from the Bay Area next week, so you’ll want to make sure you’re checking your inbox so you don’t miss a thing. If you want to follow my Super Bowl adventures, you can do that by following me on Twitter or Instagram.

Let’s forget about next week, though, because this week isn’t quite over yet. We’ve got a huge newsletter today.

As always, here’s your reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. Let’s get to the rundown.

1. Hall of Fame drama continues: Explaining the Bill Belichick snub, Eli Manning left out again

It’s been an ugly week for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We don’t know who will make up the Class of 2026 yet, but we do know that Bill Belichick won’t be in it. The former Patriots coach got snubbed, and that has led to some major fallout over the past 48 hours.

The six-time Super Bowl-winning coach was widely expected to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but that won’t be happening. So how did arguably the greatest coach in NFL history get left out?

To understand that, you have to break down the voting process, which is a little complicated, so let’s walk through it.

• There are 50 members of the Hall of Fame selection committee. The committee is made up mostly of media members, along with several Hall of Fame coaches, front-office members and players.
• To be enshrined this year, Belichick needed at least 40 votes.
• Belichick was competing with four other finalists for a spot in Canton. He was up against the three senior finalists (Ken Anderson, Roger Craig and L.C. Greenwood), along with one contributor finalist (Patriots owner Robert Kraft).
• Each member of the selection committee is allowed to vote for up to three candidates. Members are not asked to rank them. If a candidate’s name appears on a ballot, that counts as a vote.
• Since Belichick didn’t make it, that means he was left off at least 11 ballots.
• The voting is done in secret, and the Hall of Fame does not disclose how anyone voted.

Basically, there’s no accountability or transparency in the process. CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones has called for the entire system to be blown up. 

So who voted against Belichick? That’s a great question, and I wanted to know the answer, so I tracked down the votes that were handed out. Of the 23 votes I was able to confirm, 22 of them went to Belichick, but there is one brave soul who came out and admitted that he left Belichick off his ballot: Vahe Gregorian of The Kansas City Star.

According to Gregorian, he voted for the three senior nominees since this could be their last shot at making the Hall of Fame. If other voters left Belichick off their ballot using the same logic, then Belichick being left out this year is less of a snub and more of a flaw in the selection process.

In other Hall of Fame news, Eli Manning found out that he won’t be getting in. Manning was eligible for the first time last year, so this means he’s come up short two years in a row. CBS Sports NFL researcher Doug Clawson broke down why Manning has one of the most complex Hall of Fame cases ever.

The fact that the Manning and Belichick news leaked out this week is somewhat surprising, because information about the Hall of Fame induction is usually kept under lock and key until the NFL Honors show.

The Hall clearly isn’t happy about the recent leaks, and we know that because it released a statement Wednesday night promising to punish anyone who is violating the Hall’s bylaws.

2. Each team’s MVP for the 2025 season

Now that the season is over for 30 of the NFL’s 32 teams, we decided to take a look back at the year that was by going through and naming the MVP for each team in 2025. 

For some teams, this was easy — Josh Allen was definitely the Bills’ MVP — but for other teams, it wasn’t so easy.

Here’s a look at five team MVPs that Tyler Sullivan came up with: 

• Lions: Jahmyr Gibbs. Gibbs was a touchdown machine for the Lions this season, tallying 18 scores from scrimmage. That was second only to Jonathan Taylor over the regular season, and gave Gibbs 49 for his career. That’s the most in a player’s first three seasons in NFL history. Gibbs finished fifth in total yards from scrimmage, showing how much of a dual-threat back he’s blossomed into since coming into the league as a first-rounder in 2023.
• Packers: Micah Parsons. We got to see in real time how valuable Parsons was to Green Bay’s offense. With him, the Packers went 9-4-1 and allowed 20.1 points per game. After he went down with a torn ACL and missed the final four games, the team went 0-4 over that stretch (including playoffs) and gave up 27.5 points per game, meaning he was a full touchdown difference.
• Dolphins: De’Von Achane. The third-year back totaled 1,350 rushing yards, which were a career high, as was his 1,838 yards from scrimmage. Those rushing yard totals were the most of any Dolphins player in a season since Ricky Williams in 2003. Achane’s 5.7 yards per carry also led the league. 
• Bengals: Ja’Marr Chase. While he didn’t have his starting quarterback for more than half the season, Chase continues to be among the best receivers in the NFL. The wideout finished fourth in receiving yards and third in receptions. Chase joined Randy Moss as the only players with at least 1,000 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns in each of their first five seasons in the NFL. 
• Steelers: Kenneth Gainwell. The numbers won’t exactly jump off the page, and the back didn’t even lead Pittsburgh in rushing or scrimmage yards. However, if you watched the Steelers in 2025, you understand that Gainwell was the catalyst for a lot of what they wanted to do offensively. The veteran had a career year with 537 yards rushing, along with his 1,023 yards from scrimmage. Gainwell truly made his mark in the Pittsburgh passing game, leading the team with 73 receptions.

If you want to know who was named MVP for your favorite team, be sure to check out Sullivan’s full list here. 

3. Players who could be dealt or released this offseason

There’s going to be a lot of offseason action happening over the next few weeks. We’re going to see a lot of big cuts and could even see a big trade or two go down. Former NFL agent Joel Corry came up with 15 big names who could be switching teams this offseason. 

Let’s check out four of the names on his list: 

• Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa. It’s not a matter of if but when the Dolphins part ways with Tagovailoa. After being demoted to third-string quarterback by former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel after 14 games, Tagovailoa is ready for a change of scenery. The new regime of general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley will probably go in a different direction at quarterback next season. 
• Cardinals QB Kyler Murray. The Cardinals are expected to part ways with Murray this offseason. … Murray’s situation will come to a head before March 15 (i.e., the fifth day of the 2026 league year). That’s when Murray’s completely unsecured $19.5 million 2027 base salary is fully guaranteed. The Cardinals may have to eat part of Murray’s $42.5 million 2026 salary, of which $39.8 million is fully guaranteed, to trade him. Doing so would increase Arizona’s dead money by such amount. If a trade doesn’t materialize, the Cardinals would have $52.4 million in dead money by cutting Murray without a post-June 1 designation before the 2027 salary guarantee vests.
• Eagles WR A.J. Brown. Brown’s frustration with Philadelphia’s offense, especially when he wasn’t featured, was a constant part of the equation this season. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman downplayed the notion of trading Brown during his end-of-season press conference. The Eagles are still trying to find a new offensive coordinator. That decision could have an impact on what happens with Brown.
• Raiders EDGE Maxx Crosby. Crosby was reportedly evaluating his future with the Raiders after vehemently opposing being shut down for the season due to a knee injury ahead of Week 17’s game against the New York Giants. In order for a trade to occur, Crosby will likely have to force Raiders owner Mark Davis’ hand.

If you want to see Corry’s full list of 15 players, you can do that here. 

4. Early bold predictions for the Super Bowl

With the biggest game of the NFL season just 10 days away, we have to devote at least one section of today’s newsletter to the Super Bowl, so that’s what we’re going to do right now. Zach Pereles made some bold predictions for the game, and we’re going to check out three of those predictions below. 

1. Drake Maye becomes the most-sacked QB ever in a single postseason. Maye has taken five sacks in each of his three postseason games this year. Rookie left tackle Will Campbell has struggled mightily, and the interior of the line has had its ups and downs. Maye, who loves to rip the deep ball, is liable to hold onto the ball for a tick or two too long. … Maye’s 15 playoff sacks taken are already second-most in a single postseason. Joe Burrow took 19 in the 2022 postseason. Maye, unfortunately for him and Patriots fans, will break that record. 

2. Kayshon Boutte has the longest play of the game. The third-year LSU product has come into his own this season as a physical, fast, downfield target for Maye. His 42-yard touchdown catch against the Texans in the divisional round — facing All-Pro Derek Stingley Jr., no less — could be a preview of things to come in the Super Bowl.

3. Jaxon Smith-Njigba wins Super Bowl MVP in a Seattle win. In a breakout year, Smith-Njigba seems primed to star on the biggest stage. A meticulous route runner who’s also dangerous after the catch, Smith-Njigba will have a big game — think something similar to his 10-catch, 153-yard, one-touchdown NFC Championship Game — en route to earning MVP honors. We’ll roll with Seahawks 24, Patriots 20 as the Lombardi Trophy returns to the Pacific Northwest.

Pereles made a total of five bold predictions for the Super Bowl, and you can check those out here. 

5. Grading the coaching hires: Steelers and Browns get low marks in AFC North

Over the past 48 hours, we have seen two new coaches get hired with the Browns tabbing Todd Monken to lead things in Cleveland and the Bills promoting Joe Brady in Buffalo. With those two hires, that means that eight of the 10 open jobs have been filled. (The Raiders and Cardinals apparently can’t find anyone who want to coach in Las Vegas or Arizona.) 

Since we love handing out grades around here, we’ve decided to grade every coaching hire that’s been made so far. Tyler Sullivan was in charge of handing out the grades, so let’s see what he came up with for three of the most recent hires: 

• Bills: Joe Brady — B. Brady has been a notable head coaching candidate for the last few years and has been a good offensive play-caller for Buffalo since taking over. Most importantly, he has the trust of Josh Allen, and the two already have a rapport that will help this transition, especially if Brady continues to call plays offensively. Is this a home run? No. Overall, it’s a pretty lukewarm hire, but we give it a modest “B” because of the continuity it provides Allen, who likely gave his stamp of approval.
• Browns: Todd Monken — C-. This hire of Monken feels somewhat like both sides settled. Cleveland couldn’t land one of the hotter candidates, and Monken was primarily looking at offensive coordinator jobs, so this may have been his only shot at becoming an NFL head coach. It’s hard to see this one having the legs to run for years to come.
• Steelers: Mike McCarthy — C+. It seems clear that the Steelers are not going to be starting over here, having hired a 62-year-old coach to replace the departed 53-year-old Mike Tomlin. They’re going to keep trying to win right now, and just do so with more offensive success than what they’ve had over the last decade or so. And McCarthy is a perfectly cromulent head coach if you want that to be your plan as an organization. … All in all, this just seems like a rearranging of deck chairs type of hire, rather than the fresh start the Steelers probably needed.  

If you want to see Sullivan’s grades for all eight coaching hires, you can check out his full story here. 

6. Extra points: Seahawks could be headed to Australia

It’s been a busy 24 hours in the NFL, and since it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you.

• Seahawks might open the 2026 season in Australia. We already know that the Rams are headed to Australia next season, and it appears the Seahawks have requested to be their opponent. The Seahawks’ director of international, Isabelle Van Coevorden, made it clear her team was interested in facing the Rams at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). “We would love to,” she told the Herald Sun. “It’s something that we’re waiting to hear back from the league. The NFL hasn’t announced who their opponent will be.” If you want the full details on the Seahawks possibly heading Down Under, we’ve got that here. 
• Chargers hire a defensive coordinator. The Chargers are bringing back an old friend. The team has hired Chris O’Leary to serve as their defensive coordinator. O’Leary was the Chargers safeties coach in 2024, but spent the 2025 season as a defensive coordinator in the MAC for Western Michigan. O’Leary is taking over for Jesse Minter, who left L.A. to take the head coaching job in Baltimore. 
• Competition committee shake-up. The NFL’s all-powerful competition committee is getting two familiar names back in the fray, as Mike Vrabel and Sean Payton are both re-joining, according to NFL Media. It’s unclear who they’ll be replacing, but the best bet would be Mike Tomlin and Chris Grier, who are now both out of a job.