Former Packers quarterback Brett Favre, left, jokes with former head coach Mike Holmgren at a news conference prior to Favre's induction into the Packers Hall of Fame and having his No. 4 jersey retired in July 2015 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. (AP file photo)

Six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick and four other head coaches who won Super Bowls are among the nine semifinalists in the coach category for the 2026 class for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Belichick is in his first year of eligibility after rule changes put in place last year requiring coaches only to be out of the NFL for one full season before being considered for the Hall.

Two-time Super Bowl champion coaches Tom Coughlin, Mike Shanahan and George Seifert also advanced, along with another Super Bowl winner in Mike Holmgren, who won his title with the Green Bay Packers.

The other coaches in the running are Buddy Parker, who won two NFL titles with Detroit in the pre-Super Bowl era, Chuck Knox, Dan Reeves and Marty Schottenheimer.

A blue-ribbon committee will cut the list down to one finalist. Holmgren earned that spot last year but fell short in the final vote. The coach will be grouped with one contributor and three seniors candidates. Between one and three of those five finalists will make it to the Hall based on getting at least 80% of the votes from the full committee.

Belichick was the architect of the New England Patriots dynasty in the 2000s, leading the franchise to six Super Bowl titles and three other appearances in the game during an 18-year span from 2001-18. Belichick’s 333 wins in the regular season and playoffs with New England and Cleveland are the second most to Don Shula’s 347.

Belichick also was one of the game’s top defensive assistants before taking over New England, winning two more Super Bowls as defensive coordinator for the New York Giants.

Belichick’s tenure in New England ended following the 2023 season and he is now coaching in college at North Carolina.

Belichick, Coughlin, Shanahan and Seifert are among the 14 coaches who have won multiple Super Bowls. Nine of those coaches are already in, with Andy Reid still active as the other.

Holmgren preceded Shanahan as offensive coordinator in San Francisco and also had a big impact on future coaches with Reid and Jon Gruden going on to win Super Bowls after working under Holmgren in Green Bay. Holmgren had a 161-111 record for the Packers and Seahawks, winning the title in 1996. He also got to the Super Bowl the following season in Green Bay and then again in the 2005 season in Seattle.

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