Bill Belichick strongly vouches for three former Patriots in Hall of Fame discussion
Bill Belichick should be considered a decent judge of NFL talent at this point in his career.
The New England Patriots head coach, who’s been in the league since 1975, has eight collective Super Bowl wins and he’s arguably the greatest coach ever. He’s seen a thing or two around the league and he has a pretty good understanding of which players should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Former Patriots defensive linemen Richard Seymour and Vince Wilfork were recently named semifinalists for the Hall of Fame, while safety Rodney Harrison was left off the list — he was a semifinalist last year.
Belichick discussed the topic on Friday morning and began with some endorsement for Seymour and Wilfork.
“For me, those are the two best defensive linemen that I’ve coached,” Belichick said. “… In my Hall of Fame, those two guys are there. Without a doubt.”
When it comes to Harrison, Belichick was very precise in his praise.
“I think that Rodney Harrison 100% [belongs] in that conversation,” he said. “And I have coached some of the other safeties that have been enshrined in the Hall of Fame, and not taking anything away from them, but certainly Rodney Harrison belongs in that conversation. He certainly belongs in the conversation with other players who are already there.”
Belichick continued by discussing the confusing criteria to get into the Hall of Fame.
“Since there’s no criteria for the Hall of Fame, it’s really hard to even have a conversation about it because we’re not basing it on anything,” he said. “Your opinion of a great player, my opinion of a great player, somebody else’s opinion of a great player — like, I don’t know what that. means. Is it how many year’s they played? Is it how many All-Pro’s they had? Is it how many championships they won? Is it individual stats? You can make it whatever you want to make it. With no criteria, you can make a case for anybody.”
Due to this lack of criteria, maybe Belichick will make a push for Julian Edelman at some point in the future.
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