Tom Brady Slams Decision To Snub Former Coach Bill Belichick From Hall of Fame

It’s a decision that shocked the entire football world. Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will not be inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer after falling short of the 40-vote requirement. It was assumed the UNC Tar Heels head coach would surely be a first ballot HOFer, and there isn’t a great reason to point to as to why not. Belichick won six Super Bowls with the Patriots, two with the New York Giants as their defensive coordinator, making him an eight-time Super Bowl-winning coach. New England went 302-165 in the regular season in Belichick’s 20 seasons. Those 20 seasons also included quarterback Tom Brady at the helm, who is the latest to come to his former coach’s defense.

Brady called the decision “completely ridiculous” during an interview on Wednesday with Seattle Sports 710-AM. “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,” Brady continued. If six Super Bowl rings as a head coach isn’t enough, let alone eight in total, then what is? Apparently, that resume without Spygate and Deflategate, which are reported to have played a significant role in the committee’s decision.

Here is the full story from Patriots Roundtable writer Ashish Mathur on the stunning decision.

The twin cheating scandals seem to have left a larger blemish than most thought, with reports that some voters believed he needs to “wait a year.” The team lost a first-round draft pick as a result of Spygate in 2007, and commissioner Roger Goodell fined the Patriots $500,000 and Belichick $250,000. Belichick will eventually get into Canton. His NFL coaching record of 333-178, which includes the playoffs, is only second all-time to Don Shula's 347 wins. But he was considered a first ballot shoo in, and for good reason, making the process feel a bit tarnished.