There are plenty of people surprised that Bill Belichick isn't going to be an NFL head coach for the first time this millennium after he did not land a job this past hiring cycle.
Consider his former quarterback to be one of them.
On his Let's Go! podcast, former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was asked by co-host Jim Gray whether he was surprised that Belichick didn't land a head-coaching job during this cycle, now that all the jobs have been filled.
"I'm not one to hire (coaches)," Brady recently said. "I don't know the criteria for hiring these guys, for hiring coaches. I've never been a part of it."
"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."
Belichick was linked predominantly to the Atlanta Falcons' job, having interviewed twice with the franchise, including meeting one-on-one with team owner Arthur Blank.
That opening, however, was filled by Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris. That means that -- as things stand now -- when Week 1 rolls around it will be the first time Belichick isn't a head coach for the first time since the 1999 NFL season.
Brady, arguably the most accomplished quarterback in league history, said his own experience as a free agent after leaving New England following the 2019 season gave him a different perspective on how things work in the league. Brady ended up signing with the Buccaneers, leading them to a Super Bowl title in his first season there, but there wasn't widespread interest from teams wanting to sign a then-soon-to-be 43-year-old QB.
"When I was a free agent, there (were) a lot of teams that didn't want me," Brady said on the Let's Go podcast.
Perhaps Belichick's age (he turns 72 in April), along with the Patriots' downturn after Brady left, worked against him during this hiring cycle. But that doesn't mean Brady wasn't surprised how things worked out for his ex-head coach – or how a lot of other things end up working out in this league.
"... There (are) a lot of things that happen that, for one reason or another, don't go exactly the way you think they should go," Brady said.
