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Tom Brady was just as perplexed as the rest of the NFL community over Bill Belichick’s exclusion from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
“I don’t understand it. I mean, I was with him every day. 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,” the legendary quarterback, who won six Super Bowls in New England with Belichick, said Wednesday in a radio interview with Seattle Sports.
“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.”
Belichick, an eight-time Super Bowl-winning coach, did not receive 40 of the 50 votes necessary to be enshrined into Canton next year.
The results stunned several of the sport’s most prominent figures, with Patrick Mahomes, Jimmy Johnson and J.J. Watt joining the chorus of other NFL fans speaking out, while others called for the exposure of those who did not vote for Belichick.
Bill Polian, a former Colts exec who is part of the Hall of Fame’s voting committee, comprised of seasoned NFL reporters, has received much of the blowback after an unnamed voter relayed to ESPN how he allegedly “told some voters he believed Belichick should ‘wait a year’ before induction as penance for Spygate.”
Bill Belichick coached Tom Brady for 20 seasons in New England. Getty ImagesAlthough Polian, 83, said Tuesday he did vote for Belichick, he has since backtracked from a 100 percent claim of doing so.
Spygate was the 2007 controversy that revolved around the Patriots illegally videotaping the Jets’ signals, a saga that resulted in the team losing a first-round draft pick and a $250,000 fine. Belichick was also hit with a $500,000 fine.
Brady was part of the Patriots at the time, in addition to Deflategate, a separate drama in which the QB was accused of instructing the deflation of footballs in the 2014 AFC Championship game. He was suspended the first four games of the 2016 season.
Brady, who played 20 seasons under Belichick in New England, added Wednesday he’s “not too worried” about the 73-year-old coach’s eventual entry into football immortality.
“When it comes down to votes, popularity and all that, then welcome to the world of voting, and you might 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. He’s gonna get into the Hall of Fame. In the end, I’m not worried about that,” the 48-year-old Brady said.
“A lot of times in life for all of us, things don’t happen exactly how you want them or on your timeline, 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 that he did, the commitment he made to winning and the impact that he had on all our lives and that will be a great celebration when it happens.”
The legendary QB-coach duo won six Super Bowls with the Patriots. APBrady, who retired from the NFL in 2023, is two years away from his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility.
He just wrapped his second season as Fox’s lead NFL game analyst.
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