Tom Brady Says He’s ‘Surprised The Greatest Coach Ever’ Bill Belichick Is Unemployed

Tom Brady said on his Let’s Go podcast that he’s surprised that Bill Belichick has not received a new head coaching position in the NFL. Belichick won six Super Bowls with Brady, but the head coach struggled in the years following his star quarterback’s departure.

“I don’t know the criteria for hiring coaches. I’ve never been a part of it,” Brady said. “I mean, I’m surprised that the greatest coach ever doesn’t have a job, absolutely. But I’m surprised [by] a lot of things in the NFL.”

At certain points in a busy free agency period, Belichick appeared to be heading to several teams after he and New England parted ways, the team’s dignified way of moving on from the longtime coach and general manager. He most publicly interviewed twice with the Atlanta Falcons, but over time, all eight vacant positions were filled, leaving him without a job in the NFL for the first time since 1975.

Unless Belichick accepts an assistant position, an option that seems unfathomable to both Belichick and prospective teams in equal measure, he will be out of a position in 2024. Brady related Belichick’s experience to his own, claiming that he was turned down by several teams after leaving New England. He went on to join the Buccaneers and won his seventh Super Bowl in 2021.

Reactions to Belichick’s off-season snub have been mixed, with some claiming that it taints his legacy and others condemning teams for overlooking him.

Former Patriots players, like Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, have been very vocal defenders, claiming that teams did not want to concede too much power to Belichick and were making a mistake as a result.

Others, like Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey, have criticized Belichick, claiming that his hiring failure negates claims that he is the greatest coach in NFL history. This comment drew the ire of many fans and insiders, with Deion Sanders commenting that Humphrey was being disrespectful.

While people come to terms with an upcoming NFL season without Belichick, it remains unclear what the longtime Patriots coach intends to do going forward. There will always be off-season vacancies, but at 71, retirement will become more and more possible, even for a figure so singularly focused on the sport for decades.