Former Patriots player says Bill Belichick is not the greatest head coach of all-time

To put it lightly, Asante Samuel is not the biggest fan of Bill Belichick. The former NFL cornerback — who was drafted by Belichick in 2003 and played five seasons under him in New England — recently appeared on the “All Things Covered” podcast and tore down his former head coach. Samuel told Bryant McFadden that Belichick is not the greatest head coach of all time and instead insisted that the Patriots‘ success was all thanks to Tom Brady. 

“Absolutely not,” said Samuel when asked if Belichick was the greatest head coach ever. “Are you crazy? Look at his record without Tom [Brady]. 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 know it. Tom know it but he ain’t gonna admit it because he wants to be politically correct. That’s why I’m here and I’m going to tell the truth.” 

This isn’t the first time that Samuel has thrown jabs at Belichick. Earlier this offseason when Lamar Jackson’s situation with the Baltimore Ravens was still volatile and talking heads suggested that the Patriots should pursue the former MVP quarterback, Samuel took to Twitter and wrote, “Lamar Jackson, my brother trust me you don’t want to play for Belichick.”

Samuel also called Belichick “just another coach” in August of 2021 and told TMZ in the aftermath of Brady departing the Patriots in 2020 that the quarterback “probably just got tired” of Belichick as his coach. 

Samuel’s disdain for Belichick could, in part, be due to the head coach’s rigid style, but also may surround the end of his tenure with the organization as well. The Patriots placed the franchise tag on Samuel before the 2007 season and the cornerback held out for most of the preseason before jumping aboard for the regular season under the tender. New England did not retain him that following offseason and Samuel instead inked a $56 million contract with the Eagles. 

In Foxborough, Samuel may be most commonly remembered for letting a would-be interception thrown by Eli Manning during Super Bowl XLII slip through his fingers. Had he secured the pick, that would have propelled the Patriots to a championship and an undefeated season. Instead, a play after Samuel’s drop, David Tyree made the infamous “Helmet Catch” and helped New York complete the upset. With that in mind, Belichick may not have the fondest memories of Samuel either. 

To Samuel’s point, however, the Belichick’s Patriots are 25-25 in the regular season and have not won a playoff game since Tom Brady left the organization.