In a tongue-in-cheek manner, Bill Belichick suggested that the Lombardi Trophy should be renamed after future Hall of Famer Tom Brady. 

Belichick was speaking with sportscaster Jim Gray on the “Let’s Go!” podcast when the two began discussing the role players and coaches have on the outcome of a game. 

The former Patriots coach, now the head coach at North Carolina, argued that if a team doesn’t have good players, it won’t matter who the coach is. 

“Players win games. You can’t win games without good players. I don’t care who the coach is, it’s impossible,” Belichick said. You can’t win without good players. You know, I found that out when I had [Lawrence] Taylor and [Carl] Banks and Harry Carson, Pepper Johnson, Jim Burt, Everson Walls, all those guys at the Giants. 

“And same thing when we got good at Cleveland and then at New England. I mean, it’s [Tom] Brady, it’s [Willie] McGinest, it’s [Mike] Vrabel, it’s [Tedy] Bruschi, it’s Corey Dillon, it’s Randy Moss, Troy Brown, Lawyer Milloy, Ty Law, Rodney Harrison. Those are guys that won the games, man. I didn’t make any tackles. I didn’t make any kicks. That was [Adam] Vinatieri that made that kick in 4 inches of snow.”

Eventually Gray argued that, despite Belichick’s point, the championship trophy is named after legendary Packers coach Vince Lombardi.

“They don’t name it the Starr Trophy, it’s named the Lombardi Trophy,” Gray said, invoking iconic QB Bart Starr, who won two Super Bowls under center for Lombardi in Green Bay. 

“Maybe they should name it the Brady Trophy. He won seven of them,” Belichick said with a chuckle.

Brady and Belichick won six Super Bowls together during their time together in New England and the quarterback great won a seventh with Tampa Bay in 2021. 

Belichick is preparing for his first season at the helm of North Carolina’s football program after he was hired by the university in December.