FOXBORO — For all the praise Bill Belichick has heaped on Richard Seymour — and there is a lot — nothing, not even calling him worthy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, could compare to what he uttered Friday.
Seymour, upon arriving in New England as rookie in the spring of 2001, was unlike any player Belichick had ever coached.
“Obviously, you talk about Hall of Fame players, it’s not a long list of those guys, but I just never really had anybody like that. … It jumped out pretty quickly,” Belichick said Friday. “It didn’t take long to see that this guy was going to really be able to help us.”
The only comparison Belichick could muster was to say Seymour reminded him of parts of a few defensive linemen Belichick coached during his first job with the Baltimore Colts. Basically, he was a Frankenstein of ’70s football.
Now, 20 years after his rookie season, Seymour is a Patriot Hall of Famer. He will officially be enshrined into the team’s Hall on Saturday at 3 p.m., an honor delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. And, in Seymour’s view, some curious fan voting.
“This is a tremendous honor, it’s a part of my legacy, and I’m truly ecstatic to be a new inducted member of the Patriots Hall of Fame. I will say this — I give the fans a hard time, (because) we know it’s been long overdue,” he told reporters Friday. “But at the end of the day, I’m excited to be here, and we’re going to have a great time this weekend.”
The 6-foot-6, 300-pound lineman was the rock upon which Belichick built his first championship defense. Seymour played out of position at nose tackle during the Pats’ first Super Bowl run, after he became the first player Belichick selected in the first round as the team’s head coach. Quickly, Seymour kicked out to defensive end, where he helped form two of the greatest defensive fronts in franchise history during title runs in 2003 and 2004.
Seymour says getting drafted by the Patriots meant more to him in the moment because of the legendary defensive players Belichick had coached before. Now, he’s among them.
“For him to draft you, sixth pick overall out of the University of Georgia, that was the confidence I needed,” Seymour said. “Because I knew how much I respected and admired (Belichick) from afar.”
By the end of Seymour’s 12-year career, he was named to three All-Pro teams and seven Pro Bowls, including two during the final stretch of his career with the Oakland Raiders. Belichick traded Seymour days before the start of the 2009 regular season when he was in the final year of his contract. Now returned to Foxboro, Seymour stopped short of calling his induction a story about reconciliation.
“No, I wouldn’t say right. I talked to (late Raiders owner) Al Davis, and Al Davis said he traded for me,” he said. “So it’s how you look at it.”
Seymour added he cherishes the championships and lifelong memories he earned in New England, many of them now part of NFL lore. The question is whether his contributions will ever be recognized in Canton.
Seymour has been a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame three years running. His case for induction includes being voted to the NFL’s 2000s All-Decade team, and the Patriots’ 50th Anniversary team. Over his career, Seymour totaled 496 tackles, 57.5 sacks, 88 QB hits and four forced fumbles.
As he has for years, Seymour stated Friday his career is best defined by its body of work, not one or two plays. Nonetheless, Belichick recalled a few plays in great detail Friday morning, including a punt return for a touchdown he helped block in 2001 and a fumble recovery he took 68 yards for a touchdown in 2004. Belichick has long asserted Seymour belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and reiterated his case Friday.
“We won a lot of games with him. He was a great player. He certainly deserves to be in the Patriots Hall of Fame and the NFL Hall of Fame,” he said. “Hopefully, that’ll be coming shortly for him as well.”
Belichick was not alone in his sentiment this week.
On Thursday, Pats linebacker Kyle Van Noy shared he crossed paths with Seymour last offseason and said he deserved to be in both Hall of Fames. Van Noy also expressed an appreciation for everything the longtime D-lineman had done to help lay the foundation of of the Patriots dynasty. All these years later, he can still feel the ripples of Seymour’s greatness through time, the truest mark of a true Hall of Famer.
“Not many people walked the earth like him, and played dominant football like him. But that’s a different story,” Van Noy said. “He gets that red coat, and that’s an amazing accomplishment. And he should be proud, his family should be proud, he worked really hard to get that, and he deserves it.”
