Tom Brady knows how great Bill Belichick is as a coach, and he is as confused as everyone else that his former head coach was not a first ballot selection for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is going through their process to select the next set of inductees. One of the greats of the sport, who is now eligible for selection for the first time, is the New England Patriots icon. Belichick being a first ballot inductee seems like a slam dunk.
He won eight Super Bowls, six as a head coach and two as a defensive coordinator for the New York Giants, and he is second all-time in wins at 333. Yet, to the bewilderment of long-time NFL fans, Belichick fell short of the 40 votes required for induction.
Bill Belichick record: 333-178
In the hours since reports have emerged that some in the voting committee with grudges against the legendary coach used his links to the Spygate and Deflategate scandals to sway votes away from Belichick.
Since the news emerged, football fans, analysts, and former players and staff who worked or played for Bill Belichick have gone public to question the decision and bash the Hall of Fame committee for the surprise snub. You can now add to the chorus of confusion the player most tied to Belichick’s success, Tom Brady.
“I don’t understand it,” Brady said on the Seattle Sports’ Brock & Salk show. “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. He’s incredible. There’s no coach I’d rather play for. If I am picking one coach to go out there and win a Super Bowl during one season, I am picking Bill Belichick.”
Brady added that he knows Belichick will eventually get into the Hall of Fame, and he will be among the “huge turnout” to celebrate with the coach. But he also understands this is the nature of the popularity contest that is award or Hall of Fame voting.
