New England Patriots
“If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer then there’s really no coach that should ever be a first-ballot Hall of Famer”
The Pro Football Hall of Fame voting committee’s reported decision not to elect Bill Belichick during his first time being eligible on the ballot has been a head-scratcher for many.
Count Tom Brady among those who are puzzled by the fact that Belichick did not get in this year.
“I don’t understand it. I was with him every day,” Brady said during an appearance on Seattle Sports’s Brock & Salk. “If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer then there’s really no coach that should ever be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, which is completely ridiculous because people deserve it.”
Only three coaches in NFL history, Don Shula, Tom Landry, and Chuck Noll, have made the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Belichick has more Super Bowl wins than all of them.
He is second behind only Shula on the all-time total wins list. He spent nearly five decades coaching in the NFL, with 24 seasons as head coach of the Patriots. He is a three-time Associated Press Coach of the Year award winner
“He’s incredible, there’s no coach I’d rather play for. If I’m picking one coach to go out there and win a Super Bowl, give me one season, I’m taking Bill Belichick,” Brady said. “So, that’s enough said. Outside of that, when you come down to votes and popularity and all that, then welcome to the world of voting. You may as well go try out for the Oscars or whatever and get a big panel to tell you whether you’re good or not.”
Former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was also displeased with the results of the committee’s vote.
“Absolutely asinine that he did not make it into the Hall of Fame as a first ballot,” Gronkowski said during an appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Zolak and Bertrand. “The guy has won more Super Bowls than anyone out there, six with the New England Patriots, two with the New York Giants as a defensive coordinator … this guy has touched so many lives, he has shared so much knowledge with the game of football.”
Both Brady and Gronkowski expressed confidence that Belichick will make the Hall of Fame eventually. He’ll just have to wait for it.
“It’s the way it works, unfortunately,” Brady said. “He’s going to get into the Hall of Fame, in the end, I’m not worried about that. A lot of times in life, for all of us, things don’t happen the way you want or on your timeline. We’ll all be there to celebrate him when it does happen.”
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