Warren Sapp says Tom Brady and Lawrence Taylor made Bill Belichick who he is and thinks he should retire

Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Sapp harshly criticized New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s struggles this season during an appearance on “The Fearless” with Jason Whitlock .

Sapp, the 1999 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, said not only is it time for Belichick to retire, but he owes his success in the game to two of the league’s greatest players.

“Tom Brady is the reason you become Bill Belichick. Lawrence Taylor is the reason you become Bill Belichick,” Sapp said.

Overall, Belichick has eight Super Bowl rings, six with the Patriots and two with the New York Giants, where he coached Taylor as defensive coordinator from 1985 to 1990.

“Maybe the greatest football player in the NFL on offense and maybe the greatest football player on defense. Bill, that’s the guy you should thank. All the Patriot ways — that’s been thrown out the window.”

Sapp then listed Belichick’s offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, former Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels and former Houston coach Romeo Crennel — all of whom were with Belichick worked under Gram and faced difficulties as a head coach.

“You can’t go somewhere else and recreate it because no one cares about it. No one respects that except you and the old-school football players,” Sapp said in explaining Belichick should retire.

“His run was a beautiful thing, but he’s gone. He’s like Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski — it’s time to go to the couch.”

When Whitlock asked Belichick if he should consider the Washington Commanders or Los Angeles Chargers if he parted ways with the Patriots, Sapp had no choice in either.

“I want him to come home,” Tharp said. “He told us he didn’t want to continue coaching past 70. He’s 70 now.”

Sapp cited several issues with team discipline as reasons why Belichick should hang up his headphones.

“Situational football has been abandoned in New England,” Sapp said. “It’s so un-Bill Belichick football, so unsituational football, I don’t even know how he shows up every week.”

The Patriots are 2-8 so far this season and are in last place in the AFC East. If they miss the playoffs again this season, it would be the third time in the past four years that New England has missed the playoffs since Tom Brady left the team before the 2020 season.

According to the Boston Globe, several figures within the Patriots are currently “fighting for control of the team” in case Belichick retires or is fired after this season.