Patriots dynasty suffers new Hall of Fame blow and Roger Goodell’s awkward press conference only made it worse

Roger Goodell walked into his annual Super Bowl press conference with Robert Kraft.

Then with the New England Patriots owner sitting in the first row, Goodell ducked two specific questions about Bill Belichick not making the Hall on the first ballot.

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Goodell took offense to Belichick questions

“It’s a timing issue. There are a lot of people who are deserving of this, so I think that’s something that the media will have to make that determination as they go,” Goodell said before Super Bowl LX media night at the San Jose Convention Center.

“But there are a lot of people who want to be in the Hall of Fame and Bill Belichick deserves to be in that Hall of Fame, too.”

Yet the greatest coach in NFL history won’t make the final cut this week, according to multiple reports, and that disgrace continued to overshadow Super Bowl LX on Monday night when the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks were rolled out to the masses.

Hours later, ESPN reported that Kraft also won’t make the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.

Blocking two of the most important Patriots in history from the Hall is absurd, and it only looks worse with New England back in the big game.

Goodell answered question after question on Monday, yet he rarely gave definitive answers — especially on pressing issues such as a lack of minority head coach hirings.

The NFL commissioner also became tense during his first Belichick question, jabbing back at a reporter and going on offense with a live microphone in his hand.

“Your question may be a little misleading for everybody,” Goodell said.

“OK, so the Pro Football Hall of Fame is not in any way controlled by the NFL. We have no say in the voting process. We don’t participate in the voting process. I think you know this, but I want to make sure that the question doesn’t lead people to that conclusion.”

Belichick must wait until at least 2027

But the Hall of Fame is supposed to be the greatest representation of the NFL and its history, and Belichick supposedly ‘wasn’t good enough’ this year.

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All Goodell had to do was give his opinion about Belichick being blocked from a Hall that houses legendary names including Walter Payton, Don Shula, Jim Brown and Peyton Manning.

But even when the biggest voice of a $23 billion league was given the opportunity to clarify his response about Belichick, Goodell ducked another opportunity — with Kraft watching it all.

“Bill Belichick’s record goes without saying, same with the Patriots and Robert Kraft, who’s also a candidate,” Goodell said.

“They are spectacular. They’ve contributed so much to this game, and I believe they’ll be Hall of Famers.”

But they’re not right now, and that’s the point that Goodell kept missing.

Brady unloaded on Hall of Fame snub

Compare the commissioner’s words to what Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Patrick Mahomes said.

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“I don’t understand it,” Brady said last week on Seattle Sports 710 AM.

“I was with him every day. 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, and he’s incredible.”

Gronk was equally aghast.

“Absolutely a****** that he did not make it into the Hall of Fame as a first ballot,” Gronkowski told 98.5 The Sports Hub.

The same for Showtime Mahomes.

“Insane… don’t even understand how this could be possible,” posted Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl winner and expected future Hall of Famer posted.

All three sounded passionate, fiercely competitive and … human.

Goodell was robotic in his murky responses, again appearing to care more about playing politics and adding another billion dollars to the NFL’s coffers than giving his personal and professional opinion about a head coach who won nine Super Bowls — six as the leader of the Patriots’ dynasty — and ranks third all-time in coaching wins (302).

The Hall of Fame is a joke without Belichick.

Kraft also belongs, even though granting him entry on the first ballot is debatable.

But there’s no way that Belichick and Kraft should both be barred, and it would have been simple for Goodell to show a little passion about mystifying decisions that undercut everything the league is promoting during Super Bowl LX.

Monday’s flat and boring media night inside a buzz-less convention center was a reminder of how formulaic and corporate the NFL can be.

The Hall of Fame’s voting rules require clarity, transparency and renewal.

It looked bad on Monday night when Goodell walked into the same room with Kraft.

It looks even worse when the Hall appears to bar Belichick and Kraft at the same time — and the NFL’s commissioner deflects questions about the biggest controversy of Super Bowl week.

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