NFL teams couldn’t beat Bill Belichick for years.
And now they want nothing to do with him.
That just doesn’t make sense to Tom Brady.
“I don’t know the criteria for hiring coaches. I’ve never been a part of it,” Brady said on his “Let’s Go!” podcast with Jim Gray and Larry Fitzgerald. “I’m surprised that the greatest coach ever doesn’t have a job, absolutely. But, you know, I’m surprised (about) a lot of things in the NFL.”
That Belichick did not land a head-coaching gig this coaching cycle was a stunning development considering his standing as one of — if not the — best coaches in NFL history.
Eight teams had openings, including the Patriots after they parted ways with him, and the game of musical chairs ended with Belichick passed over for the likes of Raheem Morris, Dave Canales and Dan Quinn, among others; New England promoted linebackers coach Jerod Mayo to head coach.
The Falcons were rumored to be the favorites for Belichick, especially after setting up a second meeting with Belichick, but they opted for the well-regarded Morris after his successful stint as Rams’ defensive coordinator.
Belichick’s requests for control and his age — he’s 71 — have been rumored as reasons why teams went in different directions.
Brady knows the feeling of being considered the greatest player at your position and receive little interest as only a few teams attempted to sign him when he became a free agent after the 2019 season.
He then won a Super Bowl the next season with the Buccaneers, finished second in MVP voting during the 2021 campaign and reached the playoffs all three seasons with Tampa before calling it a career.
Brady’s words also carry extra weight since he and Belichick did not always see eye to eye yet he still went to bat for him.
“When I was a free agent, there was a lot of teams that didn’t want me,” Brady said. “There’s a lot of things that happened that for one reason or another don’t go exactly the way you think they should go.”