When Tom Brady won his fifth Super Bowl, a large portion of the sports fan population felt he cemented himself as the greatest quarterback of all time. Those who didn’t likely still place Joe Montana ahead of Brady because of the former’s undefeated record in the Super Bowl, but how could you argue that Brady is lower than No. 2?
Just ask Tony Dungy.
Dungy was one of 10 Super Bowl-winning current and former NFL coaches and executives who were asked to rank their top 10 quarterbacks since 1978 — the modern era with regard to pass coverage rules — for a recent feature from ESPN’s Mike Sando. While Sando did not reveal exactly how every panelist voted, he did share some interesting details.
Not surprisingly, Brady took the top spot with Montana behind him at No. 2. What is somewhat shocking is that there was one panelist who ranked Brady sixth out of 10. Through the use of deductive reasoning, Michael Hurley of CBS Boston concluded that it was Dungy who ranked five QBs higher than Brady.
According to Sando, only one panelist left Brady out of the top two. Sando also revealed that Dungy listed John Elway, Steve Young and Aaron Rodgers as his top three, so we have our answer to the question, “Who snubbed Tom Terrific?”
Dungy did offer somewhat of an explanation, and he hinted that he is giving Bill Belichick more credit than Brady for the Patriots’ incredible run of success.
“It can be tough to separate the great quarterback from the great coach,” Dungy explained. “We have seen this in every era: Otto Graham and Paul Brown, Bart Starr and Vince Lombardi, Johnny Unitas and Don Shula/Weeb Ewbank, Terry Bradshaw and Chuck Noll, Joe Montana/Steve Young and Bill Walsh. I don’t think Bill Belichick would be Bill Belichick without Tom Brady, and Brady would not have the same success without Belichick and the way they have put that team together. But the one common thread through 15 years was Brady. When they had him, they won big — won championships. The quarterback has so much to do with it.”
That’s certainly a valid point, but Brady as the sixth-best NFL quarterback since in the past 40 years? Come on, Tony. Apparently Dungy would have plenty to say about our recent list of the 10 best quarterbacks in the NFL.
