A day after the sports world was shocked to learn that Bill Belichick would not be a first ballot Hall of Famer, the two men who shared in six Super Bowl championships with Belichick came to the former Patriot head coach’s defense.
During an appearance on Brock and Salk, a Seattle sports talk show on Wednesday morning, Tom Brady said he couldn’t wrap his head around the decision.
“I just think that to me, I don’t understand it. I was with him every day. If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, there’s really no coach that ever should 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, give me Bill Belichick,” Brady said. “So that’s enough said. Outside of that, when it comes down to votes and popularity and all that, then welcome to the world of voting. You may as well try out for the Oscars or whatever and get a big panel to tell you if you’re good or not. It’s the way it works, unfortunately.”
When Brady departed Foxboro to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, the three-time MVP wasn’t on the best of terms with his former coach but the two have mended fences and spoken glowingly about each other in recent years.
Brady also said he expects Belichick to get the call to the hall eventually.
“In the end, he’s going to get into the Hall of Fame. I’m not worried about that. A lot of times in life for all of life, for all of us, things don’t happen exactly how you want them or on your timeline,” Brady added. “We’ll all be there to celebrate him when it does happen and he’s going to have a huge turnout from so many players, coaches, that appreciate everything that he did and the commitment that he made to winning and the impact that he had on our lives. And that will be a great celebration to have.”
While wounds between Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft may be fresher after the latter parted ways with his longtime head coach in 2023, Kraft still said Belichick’s accomplishments speak for themselves.
“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,” Kraft said in the statement 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,” Kraft continued. “He is the greatest coach of all time and he unequivocally deserves to be a unanimous first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer.”
Belichick was hired by New England in 2000 and led the franchise to six Super Bowl wins and three other appearances in the title 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. He won AP NFL Coach of the Year three times.
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