Belichick on Tom Brady: “Best Player In NFL History”

The outpouring of tributes from the NFL community has continued a day after quarterback Tom Brady announced his retirement after 22 seasons. And, one of the more anticipated reactions finally came on Wednesday when Patriots head coach Bill Belichick released a statement with many glowing remarks about his quarterback of 20 years. However, no comment was more noteworthy than Belichick calling Brady the best PLAYER in NFL history.

That is one hell of a statement coming from a guy who coached Lawrence Taylor, widely considered the greatest defensive player of all time, and who has been a coach in this league since 1975.

Here is the full statement from Belichick via Patriots.com:

“I am privileged to have drafted and coached Tom Brady, the ultimate competitor and winner. Tom’s humble beginning in professional football ultimately ended with him becoming the best player in NFL history. Tom consistently performed at the highest level against competition that always made him the number one player to stop. His pursuit of excellence was inspirational. Tom was professional on and off the field, and carried himself with class, integrity, and kindness. I thank Tom for his relentless pursuit of excellence and positive impact on me and the New England Patriots for 20 years.”

As it stands now, it is not even debatable who the greatest quarterback of all time is. In fact, it is one of the easiest questions to answer when it is posed. However, the greatest overall player is surely up for debate. The aforementioned Taylor would be included in the debate. Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Jim Brown would be as well. With that said, it is probably not a bad idea to land on the side of Belichick who has likely forgotten more football than many of us know. If he calls Brady the greatest player ever, I believe him.

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Of course, Belichick and Brady re-wrote the history books in their 20 years together in New England, going to nine Super Bowls and winning six. Many consider Belichick the greatest football coach of all time and he owes a great deal of that to Brady. Just as Brady owes a great deal of his success to Belichick. Neither statement takes away from each other’s greatness and, if anything, Belichick’s success and history give him as much of an authority as anyone alive to answer the question as to who the best player in NFL history is.