Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski Weigh In On Bill Belichick's Failure To Land NFL Coaching Job

The two former Buccaneers each had an opinion on Belichick being left on the outside looking in of the NFL's coaching circle.

The NFL head coaching carousel is over after all eight open jobs were filled throughout the last couple of weeks. In the end, there were plenty of unexpected moves, and that led to legendary head coach Bill Belichick being left on the outside looking in after he parted ways with the New England Patriots following the season.

When 2024 rolls around, it'll mark the first time in 24 years that Belichick isn't on New England's sideline. Rumored to replace Todd Bowles in Tampa Bay at one point, he'll now likely be sitting a year out before trying to return to the league for another job.

That result astonished two of his most renowned former players; Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. While the pair of future hall-of-famers finished their careers with the Buccaneers, they both had opinions on Belichick's failure to land another job.

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Brady, in particular, came away surprised that Belichick is still available on the open market. At the same time, he noted that a lot of things in the NFL don't go the way that you're necessarily expecting them to.

"I don't know the criteria for hiring coaches. I've never been a part of it," Brady said on the most recent episode of his "Let's Go!" Podcast. "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.

"I'm surprised when I was a free agent, there were a lot of teams that didn't want me," Brady continued. "I'm surprised that Steve Young started in the USFL and went to Tampa. I'm surprised that Tampa traded Steve Young to the 49ers. There's a lot of things that happen that for one reason or another don't go exactly the way you think they should go."

The Atlanta Falcons interviewed Belichick twice before ultimately hiring Raheem Morris away from the Los Angeles Rams. Gronkowski believes that Atlanta would have been a 'perfect fit' for his next coaching opportunity.

"I think that would have been his best landing destination," Gronkowski said to Fox News. "I feel like what happened is that I don’t think that the Atlanta Falcons organization wanted to give up that much power and give all the decisions to Coach Belichick. Other than that, I think Coach Belichick would have been the perfect fit."

Gronkowski is looking at the situation from the positive side as he thinks a year off from coaching could end up being a benefit for Belichick in the long run.

"But I think it happened for a reason. I think Coach Belichick should take a year off from coaching," Gronkowski said. "I mean, he’s put his time in. He’s been coaching for 50 years-plus straight, too, in the NFL. I mean, he can take a year off, reinvent himself, [go] find himself, go enjoy something other than just football."

"I think it would be great for him and then have him come back next year, resurrected and ready to go and put a display on wherever he lands a head coaching job next year," Gronkowski continued.

The 71-year-old Belichick has won six Super Bowls during his career as a head coach. He's a three-time NFL coach of the year and holds the record for most playoff victories, Super Bowl wins, and Super Bowl appearances as a head coach. Belichick has accumulated 302 career wins and counting with the majority of that success coming in New England.

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