On Tuesday evening, the NFL world was shocked to learn that former New England Patriots and current North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick was not voted in as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Belichick won six Super Bowls as the head coach of the Patriots and is widely considered to be the best NFL head coach of all time.
Recently, former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who was the team’s starter for all six of their Super Bowl runs, weighed in on the shocking snub.
“I don’t understand it. 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,” said Brady, per Seattle Sports, via Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team on X, formerly Twitter.
The Brady-Belichick duo is arguably the most iconic player-coach tandem in the history of professional sports, with Belichick dialing up elite defenses year after year for the Patriots, and Brady finding ways to help guide his team over the finish line in playoff games throughout his career.
It’s true that Belichick’s reputation has taken a hit in recent years with some of his off the field activities, as well as his disastrous tenure as the head coach of North Carolina. Still, if that was what influenced the voters to snub him of the necessary total to get into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot, it certainly isn’t a great look for the organization.
Of course, it’s still highly likely that Belichick will eventually get into the Hall of Fame one day, but the fact that it won’t be on his first ballot certainly casts a cloud over what is generally regarded to be the most prestigious honor in the game of football.
In any case, the Patriots will be looking to add another Super Bowl to their collection in two weeks vs the Seattle Seahawks.