Tom Brady labeled Bill Belichick’s snub from the Pro Football Hall of Fame as “completely ridiculous” on Wednesday.
Brady obviously knows a thing or two about his long-time former head coach with the New England Patriots. The three-time NFL MVP shared his thoughts on the voting committee’s decision against embracing Belichick on his first year on the ballot.
“I don’t understand it,” Brady said Wednesday during an interview with Seattle Sports 710 AM. “I mean, I was with him everyday. 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.
“He’s incredible. There’s no coach I’d rather play for. If I’m picking one coach to go out there to win a Super Bowl — give me one season — I’m taking Bill Belichick. So that’s enough said.”
The proof is in the pudding for Belichick, whose six Super Bowl victories as a head coach are the most in NFL history. He went 266-121 (.687) in his 24 seasons leading the Patriots, with an undefeated regular season in 2007. He also won two Super Bowls as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants.
Per ESPN, Belichick was informed Friday that he did not reach the threshold of 40 out of 50 votes from the Hall of Fame’s selection committee.
“When it comes down to votes and popularity and all that, then welcome to the world of voting,” said Brady, who will become eligible for Hall of Fame induction in 2028.
“You might as well try out for the Oscars and get a big panel to tell you if you’re good or not. It’s the way that it works unfortunately. He’s gonna get into the Hall of Fame. In the end, I’m not worried about that.”
Belichick was a three-time NFL Coach of the Year and named to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019. With 302 regular-season wins as head coach of the Cleveland Browns (1991-95) and Patriots, he ranks third in league history behind Don Shula and George Halas.
“Whatever perceptions may exist about any personal differences between Bill and me, I strongly believe Bill Belichick’s record and body of work speak for themselves,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said to The Associated Press. “As head coach of the New England Patriots for more than two decades, he set the standard for on-field excellence, preparation, and sustained success in the free agency and salary cap era of the National Football League.”
The Patriots went 29-38 in Belichick’s last four years in New England once Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he won one Super Bowl without Belichick. More recently, Belichick became a college coach for the first time at North Carolina, but his first season was a disastrous 4-8 affair.
“A lot of times in life for all of us, things don’t happen exactly how you want them or on your timeline,” Brady said of Belichick’s eventual induction into the Hall of Fame. “But we’ll all be there to celebrate him when it does happen, and he’s gonna have a huge turnout from so many players, coaches that appreciated everything he did, the commitment he made to winning and the impact that he had on all our lives.”
–Field Level Media
