Bill Belichick was the only head coach Rob Gronkowski played for until his first retirement following the 2018 season. And during their nine years together in New England, the Patriots won nine AFC East titles, five AFC Championships, and three Super Bowls. So, it’s not surprising that Gronk, one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history, thinks Belichick should’ve been a first ballot Hall of Famer even if voters didn’t agree with him.
Gronkowski, now a Fox NFL analyst and Bounty spokesperson, says Belichick’s genius can be measured beyond his eight Super Bowl rings (six with New England and two as defensive coordinator for the New York Giants).
We spoke with Gronkowski 24 hours after the Belichick news broke and he was eager to advocate for his former coach. He also reflected on his favorite and least favorite Super Bowl moments from his career and offered his (diplomatic) pick for the G.O.A.T tight end.
What are your thoughts on Bill Belichick’s snub from the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
It’s asinine that Coach Belichick is not a first ballot Hall of Famer. The guy has the best resume: six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, three of them in two different decades, two Super Bowl rings as well with the New York Giants, the second most wins of all time, the most wins all time in the playoffs. The guy is just an absolute phenomenal coach, arguably one of the best of all time if not the best of all time. That’s just not what makes him the most impactful. It’s also how many lives he has touched and changed through the game of football, from players all the way to the coaching staff, all of the opportunities he’s given people and all the lessons he’s taught people as well. Coach Belichick will be a Pro Football Hall of Famer eventually but he should’ve been a first ballot.
Why do you think he wasn’t voted in on the first ballot?
The only thing I can think of is that there are some voters out there that just have some ill will towards Coach Belichick. That’s the only thing I can think of. I don't really know the inside [details] of how everything works. I know you need 40 of the 50 votes in order to get in as a first ballot Hall of Famer. There has to be some voters that are petty against Coach Belichick. That’s the only way that I can put it because Coach Belichick definitely deserved to be a first ballot Hall of Famer.
Is there a moment or a game you can point to that exemplifies his greatness?
The Super Bowl XLIX run when we played Baltimore in the 2014 AFC Divisional Round. We were down. We had a play called for us where we moved one of our offensive linemen to the other side and we made one of our tight ends a tackle and then he was eligible. Coach Belichick would dig so much into the rule book that he was the only one who knew that the tight end was eligible at the tackle position. We had two plays in a row where they thought he was ineligible and we tossed two passes to him and Coach Harbaugh was flipping out on the sidelines to the referee. That just shows the mastermind that Coach Belichick brings to the table as a coach. It gave us some first downs and momentum to come back and win the game.
Let’s talk about some of your Super Bowl memories, good and bad. First, Super Bowl XLVI against the Giants. In that game, a 21-17 Giants win, you were held to two catches for 26 yards on three targets.
Actually I rolled my ankle against Baltimore in the AFC Championship Game. I wasn’t even sure if I was going to play in the game and I toughed it out and got surgery a couple days later. I only played about 15-20 snaps in that game. It was a miserable time and a miserable experience because of all the pressure and everything with my injured ankle.
Super Bowl LV, a 31-9 Tampa win over the Chiefs, was a much different experience. You were largely ineffective that postseason, catching just two passes in three games. But you broke out for six catches and two touchdowns in the Super Bowl. What changed for you in that game?
We won that Super Bowl as a team. It’s not just about the Super Bowl game, it’s about all the prior playoff games as well. I contributed in the run blocking game and the pass blocking game but I wasn’t really contributing that much in the pass game. All the other skill players did— tight end Cam Brate had an excellent playoff run. Then the Super Bowl came and you just never know when it’s going to be your turn. The NFL is about how you’re feeling that given day. If you’re feeling like you’re not powerful, you’re not explosive—I would say that was contributing to my lack of production in those playoff games. But in the Super Bowl, I was feeling it. I really was. I had the week off. I was feeling twitchy. I was feeling powerful, quick, and explosive off the line and it showed in the game. I had a good run—six catches and two touchdowns. I would just say I was feeling myself in that game.
You were sidelined with injury for perhaps the greatest game in Super Bowl history, the comeback against the Falcons in Super Bowl LI. Did you lose faith when the Pats were down 28-3?
I knew it was going to be tough but I also knew it was possible. We were actually dominating the Atlanta Falcons and Coach Belichick pointed that out at halftime. He said, ‘We just keep going one play at a time and we’re going to come back. We just made too many mistakes. We turned the ball over.’ They had that pick six to the house. He said, ‘We’ve been dominating but we just haven’t scored. We’ve been moving the ball. Let’s just finish the drives. We’re going to hold them on their side.’ It was exactly what Coach Belichick pitched to us at halftime and exactly what happened. He said, ‘There is no such thing as a two touchdown play, keep driving down.’ One crucial thing that sticks out is he said, ‘They're going to wear out in the end,’ and they sure did when it went to overtime. They were gassed and our team was still conditioned.
Now on to this year’s game. What do you like about how both Seattle and New England use their tight ends in multiple tight end sets? What are you looking forward to?
Every Super Bowl team over the last decade has a pretty solid starting tight end. I feel like that’s necessary in order to reach a Super Bowl or in order to [have] a high-powered offense in the NFL. I truly believe that a tight end is crucial. With AJ Barner, who is the tight end for the Seattle Seahawks, the guy plays like he’s going to fight you out there. He brings so much energy to the table. He’s kind of the unsung hero of the offense. People feed off of his energy out there on the offensive side of the ball for Seattle. And then with the Patriots, let me tell you, Hunter Henry is a top tier tight end. He can do it all. He’s a great route runner. He’s very reliable. You can trust in Hunter Henry. He’s come through in so many clutch situations for the Patriots over the last couple of years. Both teams have very solid starting tight ends. I just love the way tight ends are used. If you have two tight ends on the field who are capable of being able to block and catch, I think it’s one of the hardest personnels to defend in the game of football.
Barner and Henry are both solid, as you said, but they’re not challenging you for the title of G.O.A.T. tight end. Who’s your biggest competition in that conversation?
There are so many different ways that you can argue it. We’ve all had different style careers, different lengths of careers, and different impacts on the game. But I’m going to go with Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Travis Kelce, and then you can toss myself into that hat. Whatever name you pull out, you can argue easily about who’s the greatest and who did the most.