Falcons Ex Asante Samuel Rips Patriots Coach Bill Belichick: 'It Was All Tom!'
For most NFL fans, the greatest all-time coach is the New England Patriots' Bill Belichick. With a record six Super Bowls and closing in on Don Shula's mark for the most wins, Belichick's Hall-of-Fame resume is usually beyond reproach.
His critics are few and far between, but they are nonetheless led by former Atlanta Falcons cornerback and Belichick's ex-player Asante Samuel. Here we go again.
During his appearance on the "All Things Covered" podcast, Samuel expressed a different opinion. Samuel promptly dismissed the notion when asked about Belichick's status as the best coach in NFL history. He pointed out Belichick's inability to win without quarterback Tom Brady highlighting it as a key reason for his skepticism.
"Absolutely not," Samuel said. "Are you crazy? Look at his record without Tom. You've got to win without Tom. One thing I learned about being great is you got to be great in different situations. It was all Tom. I was there. I saw it. It was Tom. Everybody knows it."
To Samuel's point, Belichick has mustered only one playoff win in eight NFL seasons without Brady as his quarterback. And since Brady left Foxboro after the 2019 season, New England is only 25-25. For those reasons, rumors have begun swirling if Belichick is on the hot seat entering 2023.
This is not the first time that Samuel has criticized Belichick. Earlier in the offseason, when there was uncertainty surrounding Lamar Jackson's situation with the Baltimore Ravens and several commentators suggested that the Patriots should pursue the former MVP quarterback. Samuel advised Jackson against joining Belichick's team.
Samuel continued to call out Belichick during this offseason, expressing his belief that the coach is hindering Patriots quarterback Mac Jones from reaching his full potential.
The ongoing animosity between Samuel and Belichick likely originated from the end of Samuel's tenure with the Patriots. In 2007, the team placed the franchise tag on Samuel, leading to a holdout throughout most of the preseason. Eventually, Samuel joined the team for the regular season under the tender. However, New England chose not to retain him during the following offseason. Instead, Samuel signed a lucrative six year, $56 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Samuel did not finish out his contract with the Eagles, as they moved him to the Atlanta Falcons during the 2012 offseason, where he concluded his career after playing two years in the Peach State.
If Belichick manages to have a successful season and leads the Patriots to the playoffs for the second time in four years, it could silence Samuel and other doubters who believe he cannot win without Brady.
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