Following the news that Bill Belichick will not be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, there has been an outpouring of support for the longtime Patriots head coach after what many view as a puzzling decision.
That support now includes former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and team owner Robert Kraft.
During an appearance on Seattle Sports’ Brock & Salk, Brady — who played 20 seasons under Belichick and won six Super Bowls — made a strong case for his former
head coach.
“I don’t understand it,” he said. “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. And 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. There’s nothing outside of that.”
Kraft also voiced his support for Belichick in a statement to the Associated Press.
“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. “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. He is the greatest coach of all time and he unequivocally deserves to be a unanimous first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer.”
In addition to Brady and Kraft, many of Belichick’s former players took to social media to voice their displeasure with the decision. Others around the sports world — including Patrick Mahomes, J.J. Watt, and LeBron James — shared similar sentiments.
Belichick is widely regarded as the greatest coach in NFL history. He has won an NFL-record eight Super Bowls — six as head coach of the Patriots and two as an assistant coach with the New York Giants. He ranks first all-time in playoff wins with 31 and second in total career wins with 333.
Even with three AP NFL Coach of the Year awards (2003, 2007, and 2010) also on his résumé, it was not enough for Belichick to earn a first-ballot induction. Brady knows that honor will eventually come due.
“When it comes down to votes and popularity and all that, then welcome to the world of voting and you may as well go try out for the Oscars or whatever and get a big panel to tell you if you’re good or not. So it’s the way it works,” the quarterback said.
“He’s going to get into the Hall of Fame in the end. I’m not worried about that. And a lot of times in life, for all of us, things don’t happen exactly how you want to run your timeline, but 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 appreciated everything that he did and the commitment that he made to winning and the impact that he had on all our lives. And that’ll be a great celebration when it happens.”
