Eli Manning was voted down by the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee, but what really surprised him was who else was voted down: Bill Belichick.
Manning, who has been one of the 15 modern-era finalists the last two years but was not voted in either time, said he was shocked when he heard that Belichick hadn’t made it either.
“Bill Belichick not making the Hall of Fame is pretty shocking,” Manning told ClutchPoints.com. “You have one of – if not maybe the greatest coach of all time — and what he built there in New England, and the amount of Super Bowls they went to, and AFC championships, let alone just the amount that they won, it was incredible. I can’t imagine a more deserving coach to make it in the Hall of Fame than him.”
Manning won two Super Bowls against Belichick, but neither his two championships with the Giants nor Belichick’s six with the Patriots were enough for a bust in Canton. At least not this year.
When it comes to betting, there’s inside information. And there’s outside information. Literally.
A clip is making the rounds of a guy who showed up outside Levi’s Stadium during the rehearsal of the national anthem for Super Bowl LX, performed by Charlie Puth. The guy brought a stopwatch and a listening device. He heard it. He timed it.
He bet accordingly on the duration of the anthem. And he won.
Although some are calling it inside information, it isn’t. He wasn’t part of the production. He heard what anyone could have heard while standing in a public place.
Anyone could have done it. It was smart. And it highlights one of the basic flaws in the system when it comes to betting on specific facts unrelated to what happens once the game begins.
He also could have done it for the halftime show. If he’d heard one of the rehearsals, he could have dropped a bet in one of the prediction markets as to the first song to be performed by Bad Bunny.
It’s legitimate. Next year, more people should do it during the Super Bowl LXI rehearsals at SoFi Stadium.
Until such wagers aren’t made available, anyone with the time, the inclination, and the equipment to show up and listen can make some easy money.
Of course, if enough people do it, those types of bets will eventually be removed from the board. Until then, go get paid.
The Patriots will be holding onto a key member of Mike Vrabel’s staff.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that quarterbacks coach Ashton Grant will remain in New England. The Raiders were interested in speaking with Grant about their offensive coordinator job,.
Grant joined the Patriots in 2025. He spent the previous five seasons on Kevin Stefanski’s staff in Cleveland as a quality control coach and offensive assistant working with the team’s quarterbacks.
The Patriots are also set to have offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels back for the 2026 season, so they’ll have the same pieces in place to help quarterback Drake Maye continue developing after a strong second NFL season.
With the 2025 season over, Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs can focus on an off-field incident that emerged in late December.
Diggs was charged with assault by his personal chef. His arraignment happened on Friday morning in the Dedham, Massachusetts, District Court. Diggs, via TMZ.com, pleaded not guilty.
The hearing was short. The purpose was simple. The defendant says “guilty” or “not guilty.”
The fact that Diggs has now been arraigned satisfies one of the potential factors for the NFL placing him on paid leave. The league won’t do it now, because the season has ended.
Diggs now has seven months to get the situation resolved before the league will focus on whether paid leave may be justified. By delaying the arraignment until after the Super Bowl, Diggs avoided the possibility of the league activating its prerogative to take him off the field pending resolution of the case.
After the hearing, attorney Mitchell Schuster told reporters the allegations against Diggs are false.
“We’re confident that after the facts and evidence are reviewed in this case, he will be completely exonerated,” Schuster said, via TMZ.com.
Diggs is accused of slapping and attempting to choke the personal chef in a dispute over an unpaid bill.
A pre-trial hearing has been set for April 1. Diggs has been ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim.
The Patriots will be moving Terrell Williams to a new role in 2026.
NFL Media reports that Williams will move to a high-ranking role on Mike Vrabel’s staff.
Williams joined the team as their defensive coordinator after Vrabel was hired as their head coach last year. Williams missed most of the season while battling prostate cancer, but was able to join the team at Super Bowl LX after making progress in his treatment.
Inside linebackers coach Zak Kuhr took on the responsibilities of calling the defense when Williams went on leave. Kuhr’s results were good enough for the Patriots to win the AFC, which should make him among the leading candidates to take over the coordinator job on a permanent basis.
