Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Mike Florio talks Bill Belichick's first-ballot Hall of Fame snub

Episode Date: January 28, 2026

Marshall Harris and Mark Grote were joined by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk to discuss legendary head coach Bill Belichick being snubbed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot. Florio also discussed the latest developments in the NFL coaching carousel.

Have you or a family member been diagnosed with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer that can be removed by surgery? Consider talking to an oncologist about your treatment options. Why? Because knowing your options before you have surgery can help your care team develop a treatment plan that's right for you. Learn about a potential treatment plan before and after surgery at askbeforesurgery.com. That's ask before surgery.com and talk to an oncologist before your surgery. Oh, could this vintage store be any cuter? Right? And the best part? They accept Discover. Except Discover? In a little place like this?

I don't think so, Jennifer. Oh, yeah, huh? Discover's accepted where I like to shop. Come on, baby. Get with the times. Right. So we shouldn't get the parachute pants? These are making a comeback. I think. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide.

Based on the February 2025 Nilsen Report. At blinds.com, it's not just about window treatments. It's about you. Your style, your space, your way. Whether you DIY or want the pros to handle it all, you'll have the confidence of knowing it's done right. From free expert design help to our 100% satisfaction guarantee, everything we do is made to fit your life and your windows.

Because at blinds.com, the only thing we treat better than Windows is you. Visit blinds.com now for up to 45% off-site-wide, plus a professional measure at no cost. Rules and restrictions apply. This hour is being sponsored by almost free teeth.com, affordable implants, life-changing smiles. Ladies and gentlemen, joining us now is a man who's got a massive brain. Mike Florio. He used to be a lawyer, then he decided to take his talents to the internet.

NBC sports. I'm sorry, I'm late. I was talking to Robert Kraft. That is at the time for an airing of grievances. Pro football talk. I got a lot of problems with you, people. No? You're going to hear about it.

On Chicago Sports Radio, 670 the score. Yes, sir. Mike Florio is indeed the creator and editor-in-chief of pro football talk. Joining us now on the Circa Resort and Casino Hotline is Mike Floreo. Circa, Las Vegas.com. Mike, how are you? You know, I am a child because I look forward to the ability to flash the thumbs and activate the fireworks.

And I've learned you only get one chance to do it. After you do it the first time, the thumbs don't work anymore. Okay, we'll be monitoring you. We'll be monitoring the situation. I'm sure our friends on Twitch will be monitoring the situation. Things are so good here, by the way, Florio, that we just did an hour of radio on the following question. Is Caleb Williams the greatest quarterback in Bears history?

We can do that in Chicago, Mike. Wow. Well, and I'll give you a little nugget that I picked up yesterday from Chris Sims. We do PFT Live three or four times a week. He ran into Michael J. Fox, of all people, last weekend at dinner. And Michael J. Fox is a big Caleb Williams fan. So he has that going for him, which is nice. That is nice. Anytime one of the Keatons gets on board, so you know you're doing well in life, at least financially, because I know, I know. know how Mr. Keaton rolls. Listen. Now I'm running for all the names. We had Alex P. Alex P.

We had Mallory. Mallory. Mallory. Who's dad's name? Who is the boyfriend was Nick? Right? Remember Nick? Oh, hey, yo Mallory.

The meathead, yes. See, now I'm actually am acting like a boomer. That's family ties for all of you who are not quite to the boomer stage of your life. Like Margrody is. Which we are not. But if you're over 37, you're a boomer. Yeah, he was called a boomer earlier today. hit him a little hard, Mike.

And I said there's nothing wrong with being a boomer. That just means you have lived a good long life. That's all that that means. We're all, hey, if we're lucky, we're all going to get there. That was how I dealt with, I think, turning 40. Mitch Album's book Tuesdays with Mori was a great perspective check. Like, the idea is we all get one ride from cradle to grave. And the goal is to keep the grave part from happening as long as possible.

and to live every moment, every year, get the most out of everything that we do. And so I don't care. 40 bothered me more than 60. The only one that bothered me really was 23, because you spend your whole life getting older and looking forward to something. I can drive when I'm 16.

I can vote when I'm 18. I can drink when I'm 21. You get to 22, you're still 21. You get to 23, and it's like, there's really no other number to aspire to. There's no other good number out there. I would argue 25 just because you can rent a car without paying the extra surcharge. That be my number.

But I agree. I see what you're doing there, Mike. I definitely agree with that. Speaking of waiting a while to get somewhere, you say that at the same time, I saw Mike McCarthy's introductory press conference for the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team that I covered when they hired Mike Tomlin. And I just thought it to be such a shocking other side of the coin, if you will, from not only what the Steelers have done over the last 60 plus years, but also. also just Mike McCarthy coming home. Oh, that part of it is such a great story. We rarely see that.

A guy coaching or playing for the team that he grew up rooting for. And Mike McCarthy oozes Pittsburgh. You can hear it in every word that comes out of his mouth. But at the same time, they got some work to do to get the Steelers fans on board with it. And I think at the core, and I've been thinking about this for a few days. and I'm in Steelers country. I'm 100 miles south of Accrashire Stadium right now. A lot of Steelers fans around.

They were all perplexed. And I think that the core is they feel like they should be getting guys who are in demand. And McCarthy hasn't exactly been a hot commodity. John Harbaugh gets fired. They're lining up for a chance to hire them. Teams that haven't fired their head coaches yet are calling John Harbaugh's agent. to inquire as to whether or not he'd be interested. McCarthy was fired, contract not renewed, however you want to apply.

When your contract's not renewed, you're fired. By the Cowboys last year, he'd go to one interview last year with the Bears. This year he had two with the Titans and with the Giants. And then the Steelers had a vacancy and he became one of the candidates and he got the job. And they hired him before they even had a chance to do an in-person interview with the Rams candidates. So it's just so different, so dramatically. different from how the Steelers have done it in the past. And to hire someone that it feels like he didn't have a plan B, it's not like he's choosing between the Steelers and the Browns, the Steelers and

the Ravens, Steelers, and the Titans, Steelers, and this, Steelers, and that. It was the Steelers or nothing, by all appearances. And I think Steelers fans have a much higher regard for their team than that outcome would suggest. What about the Aaron Rogers part of this? Does Mike McCarthy really wants that Aaron Rogers to still be there? Would Rogers want to reunite with McCarthy? The reporting from Tyler Dunn, who was with Bleacher Report at the time in 2019, paints a picture that would suggest to a reasonable observer that Rogers doesn't want to play for McCarthy again. And I would assume that after more than a decade with Rogers, McCarthy isn't interested in a 42-year-old version of Aaron Rogers being his quarterback.

Now, it's important for the Steelers to say all the right things, and McCarthy said yesterday he definitely wants Aaron Rogers back. But that's just a one-year band-aid. And at some point, Father Time is going to win. Father Time is going to kick your ass if you keep playing long enough. We've already seen Aaron Rogers' mobility diminished to the point where he's a pocket passer who's got to get rid of the ball quickly. And I suspect that the Steelers know they need to let Aaron Rogers be the one to say no thank you. Look at what happened last year. I don't think Rogers wanted to stay with the Jets, but the Jets were the ones who told him no thanks. And what occurred? He put the Jets on blast when it came out that the Jets didn't want him and they made him fly

cross-country and they didn't want to hear his input after all his years of experience. It was just, we're going in a different direction. We're done here. So I think they just need to be very careful and they need to let him make a decision while they make plans for the future. And it sounds like McCarthy really likes Will Howard. So it seems that if Rogers does come back, Howard's going to have the chance to develop and play, and we'll see where it goes. You know, McCarthy's lucked into some very good quarterback situations in Green Bay and Dallas. We'll see if they can develop a guy in Will Howard. Mike Floreo, the editor-in-chief and the creator of pro football talk joining us every week here on

Rahimi Harrison Grotie. Mike, the biggest news concerning the NFL is what did not happen, and that is Bill Belichick, not becoming a first ballot Hall of Famer by reporting. out of ESPN. I got to ask you, how shocking is this? And what do you think happens because of this? Well, Peter King put it best in words that we can't say lest we all be fined and or fired and worse. But it was stunning. And I said something to Tom Curran, who covers the Patriots for NBC Sports Boston on PFT Live, when Belichick made it to the point where he was on the T for consideration. If this guy doesn't get in, on the first ballot. It's a travesty to end all travesty. And I guess at some level, I sensed,

given the way that they've operated in the past, Chris Carter got passed over for a couple of times because they didn't like him. Terrell Owens got passed over once or twice because they didn't like him. And the process is conducive to people acting out on whatever petty grudges they hold with someone. So the process itself is a problem. The way they vote now, I won't belabor the point and go into the details. But it was stunning that he didn't make it because if he's not a first ballot Hall of Famer, if he's not a Hall of Famer, there's a lot of busts in Canton that need to be melted down and turned into cufflinks, because there are people in there who should not be in there, if Bill Belichick should not be in there.

And hopefully it's going to spark an overhaul to the whole process. How they do the voting, who does the voting? There's a lot of people that have no business voting, and I'm not saying that because I want to vote because I don't. But I think they need to go back to square one. and look at this whole process again because it's clearly flawed and it undermines the integrity of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which indirectly undermines the integrity of the National Football League. Is the solution transparency? How much more will we get a better process if we just had public ballots? Well, I think that's part of it. And you're going to have some people who don't want their vote

to be public. Well, fine, step aside for someone who has no problem with making it public. Why shouldn't people be expected to put their name on their vote? There's a power that comes with the anonymity, especially because of the current process. It used to be each finalist had an up or down vote. You voted for him or against him, and it was an 80% threshold. Now, and I will delve into the details a little bit, just to show you how ridiculous it is.

Bill Belichick was in the same bucket with Robert Kraft, Ken Anderson, Roger Craig, and L.C. Greenwood. finalists. Of those five, each of the 50 voters voted for three. So nobody voted against Belichick. They voted for someone else. And it's possible of all the reasons that have been articulated, and there are many possible reasons for not putting him on the card, it could be that someone just wanted to help the other guys, and they thought Belichick surely getting in, there's no reason for me to vote for Belichick. And all it takes is 11 out of 50 to not put him on the card, and he's bounced. Yeah, so it could be just egregious in that he was left off because they thought

someone else would do the work that they were there to do. Exactly. I mean, who knows what the reason is because, number one, we don't know who voted no. And it would be nice if the folks who did would identify themselves and explain their reasoning. I'd love to know. Surely there's a reason why he didn't put him on the list. Why did you put Kraft, Greenwood, and Anderson, or Anderson, Craig and Kraft or whoever, whoever. But you know, the way this thing works now, of the same five, it wasn't the same five people, but it was the same category that resulted in five. Only one guy made it last year in Sterling Sharp. I think they need to go back to once you have your list of finalists in every given year, it needs to be, let's take up this person and let's do a yes or no

vote and not get caught up in this weird mechanism that can leave people out accidentally. Have you or a family member been diagnosed with early stage non-small cell lung cancer that can be removed by surgery? Consider talking to an oncologist about your treatment options. Why? Because knowing your options before you have surgery can help your care team develop a treatment plan that's right for you. Learn about a potential treatment plan before and after surgery at askbeforesurgery.com. That's ask before surgery.com and talk to an oncologist before your surgery. Oh, could this vintage store be any cuter?

Right? And the best part? They accept Discover. Except Discover? In a little place like this? I don't think so, Jennifer. Oh, yeah, huh. Discover is accepted where I like to shop. Come on, baby. Get with the times. Right. So we shouldn't get the parachute pants? These are making a comeback. I think.

Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. based on the February 2025 Nielsen report. At blinds.com, it's not just about window treatments. It's about you. Your style, your space, your way. Whether you DIY or want the pros to handle it all, you'll have the confidence of knowing it's done right. From free expert design help to our 100% satisfaction guarantee,

everything we do is made to fit your life and your windows. Because at blinds.com, the only thing we treat better than Windows is you. Visit blinds.com now for up to 45% off-site wide, plus a professional measure at no cost. Rules and restrictions apply. It is a very odd mechanism, and we'll talk more about DeBelichick and the whole thing here on Rahimi Harrison Grotie a little bit later on. But Mike Florio, for God's sakes, the Cleveland Browns have a head coach. Somebody finally raised their hand, and it was Todd Munkin. Now the ex-Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator takes that gig,

and I think that's a pretty good product that Cleveland just got. The guy that interviewed with the Bears for their head coaching job that I'd, and would have at the very least like to have seen be the O.C. of Chicago, what do you think about that hiring? Well, as of a week ago, Jim Schwartz was gaining momentum in league circles to be the next head coach of the Browns. And as one source put it to me, the Browns have to decide, do they want to promote him or do they want to lose him or risk losing him? And there's been reporting in the moments we've been on the air, and I apologize for my dings that have been coming through. But Schwartz is out. He wants out. He's under contract for one more year. He doesn't want to stay.

And if I'm Todd Munkin, I don't want the guy who finished second or third in the building because I need to take control of this team. And I don't need an offensive, defensive fracture when things start to go south because they surely will for every team at some point. Nobody has a perfect, well, the dolphins did, but very few teams have a perfect season start to finish without some speed bumps. And if you have two coaches in the locker room, that's not going to be good. So they're going to have to find a new coordinator. And Schwartz has been there three years. In 2023, they finished first in the NFL in total defense based on yards allowed per game.

This year, they finished second, just one yard per game behind the Texans. That's how good they've been. And maybe they're thinking, you know what, we'll find a coordinator because we've got good defensive players. It's more important to find somebody to fix the offense because the offense has not nearly been good enough. And we look at the way that this is kind of shaken out. I think the biggest news for me concerning the Browns was this. but the second biggest news is Chodor Sanders is a pro bowler. And I'm sorry, Mike, I can't take this seriously.

What are your thoughts on the pro bowl existing in its current pro bowl games form and the way that they go about naming players and then, of course, alternates? And that's how we get a guy who had 10 touchdowns, seven interceptions and not very good stats. Well, Tyler Huntley was a pro bowler as the third string quarterback of the Ravens a few years ago. When you have a system that allows injured guys and the Super Bowl participants to tap out, you're going to dip deeper and deeper, especially because usually the Super Bowl participants of teams that make it, they've got a bunch of guys that made the Pro Bowl.

So you've got a lot of spots that you need to replace. As long as people watch whatever they put on the air, they're going to keep doing something. You know, even when the Pro Bowl was too hand touch in full pads, it did a good number. Skills competition on the Sunday between the conference championships, and the Super Bowl did a good number. This year it's a Tuesday night,

more of a studio-based flag football game, and they're really leaning into the whole flag football thing in advance of the Olympics. Let's see what kind of number it does. If it ever gets to a point where it's not profitable, they'll get rid of it. But, yeah, it's a joke in comparison to what it once was,

and I'm not suggesting there should be a full contact, full speed, go get them Pro Bowl, like there used to be when I was a kid, and it was exciting, because there's no reason to get yourself injured. If you're healthy enough to play a football game in early February, you shouldn't be playing a football game in early February

and getting yourself injured for the two months that you have to relax. You don't want to be getting surgery. You don't want to go through rehab. You don't want to hurt your potential free agency value. So I think they just need to get rid of everything but naming the team. And then you don't have to worry about replacements. You don't have to worry about the teams that make it to the Super Bowl and adding more guys to the Pro Bowl roster.

just name the pro bowl teams and be done with it. Yep, yep, and we all know that being named all pro is the much bigger deal. And we talked about it before we even came on. I mean, like Mitch Trubisky was a pro bowler in the year 2018. Of course, the now famous backup quarterback. Mike, thank you so much for your time. We always appreciate you coming on with us, man. Thanks, Mike.

Thanks, guys. Good talking to you. Yep, absolutely. There goes Mike Florio pro football talk. By the way, the reason I have a little bit of affection and affinity, I suppose he could say, for Todd Munkin, the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns, is because he is from the area. He is from Wheaton, went to Wheaton north.

More importantly, to me, it's either his dad or uncle. I should know. Bob Munkin was a famous, famous at the right word, but a great head coach at the high school that I attended, Lake Park High School. Bob Munkin was there for decades and decades. It was an absolutely classic. And Jeff of the Munkins, is the, I believe he's the head coach at Army.

So it's a football local football coaching community. Todd Monkin is Bob Monkin's son. He is. Okay. So Todd of the Monkens is Bob of the Monkens' son. I went to Lake Park with Bob Munkin. Never played football for him. I made my choices.

I did. When we return here on Rahimi Harris and Grody, I thought we slide in real nice like. Let's slide in a little baseball talk. I see what you did there with the play on words. Yeah, just slide right in like your PCA because the Cubs have gotten better, but do they have what it takes to go further than what they did last year? We'll discuss next on Rahimi Harrison Grotie on the score. Have you or a family member been diagnosed with early stage non-small cell lung cancer that can be removed by surgery?

Consider talking to an oncologist about your treatment options. Why? Because knowing your options before you have surgery can help you. care team develop a treatment plan that's right for you. Learn about a potential treatment plan before and after surgery at ask before surgery.com. That's ask before surgery.com and talk to an oncologist before your surgery. Oh, could this vintage store be any cuter? Right? And the best part? They accept Discover.

Except Discover? In a little place like this? I don't think so, Jennifer. Oh, yeah, huh? Discover's accepted where I like to shop. Come on, baby. Get with the Right, so we shouldn't get the parachute pants? These are making a comeback. I think. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. Based on the February 2025 Nilsen Report. At blinds.com, it's not just about window treatments.

It's about you. Your style, your space, your way. Whether you DIY or want the pros to handle it all, you'll have the confidence of knowing it's done right. From free expert design help to our 100% sound. Satisfaction guarantee. Everything we do is made to fit your life and your windows. Because at blinds.com, the only thing we treat better than windows is you. Visit blinds.com now for up to 45% offsite wide, plus a professional measure at no cost.

Rules and restrictions apply. I'm one of those people who will happily eat steak and eggs any time of the day. Breakfast, dinner, it's technically midnight, but I'm still hungry. Doesn't matter. There's just something unbeatable about a good steak hitting a hot pan, that immediate sizzle, the smell filling the kitchen, and then topping it with a fried egg where the yolk is deep. yellow and just barely runny. Unreal. Pure protein heaven. That's also why I love having Omaha steaks on hand. The steaks are incredibly tender, super flavorful, and cook evenly, whether I'm searing them

on the stovetop or throwing them on the grill. It's that steakhouse quality bite at home. Omaha steaks has everything from their fan favorite filet mignon. Yes, the USDA certified tender one to burgers, chicken, pork, seafood, and even fully cooked comfort meals like beef pot roast or meat lovers lasagna for nights when you still want high protein but zero effort. Get 50% off the world's best everyday protein. Go to Omaha Steaks.com for 50% off site wide during their semi-annual sale. And for an extra $35 off,

use promo code T-bone at checkout. That's 50% off at Omaha Steaks.com and an extra $35 off with promo code T-bone at checkout. Terms apply. See site for details. Presented by T-Mobile, the official wireless partner of Odyssey Sports. With an awesome network and great savings,

there's never been a better time to join T-Mobile. Visit your neighborhood store to make the switch today.