Tony Dungy Thinks Tom Brady Is Sixth-Best QB Since 1978, Is Delusional

Someone may need to check on Tony Dungy, because I’m seriously concerned for his mental health. The 61-year-old former Indianapolis Colts head coach might just be losing it.

On Wednesday, ESPN’s Mike Sando posted a piece wherein current and former NFL coaches and executives ranked the top NFL quarterbacks since 1978. The results were largely unremarkable except for one ballot: Dungy’s. The Hall of Famer ranked New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady sixth on his list. Sixth! No one else had Brady lower than second, because obviously they shouldn’t.

Nine of the 10 men polled put Brady either first or second, but Dungy went another direction. He had John Elway, Steve Young and Aaron Rodgers as his top three. No Joe Montana? No Peyton Manning? And Brady sixth?!?

Dungy’s absurd reasoning is that you can’t separate Brady’s success from Bill Belichick’s and that he likely wouldn’t be as good without “The Hoodie” watching over him. OK sure, but it’s not like the other guys on the list didn’t get good, NFL-level coaching.

Brady is a five-time Super Bowl champion and at 39 he has been elite longer than any player in NFL history. He’s a 12-time Pro Bowler, a two-time MVP, a four-time All-Pro and has been a four-time Super Bowl MVP. Brady currently ranks fourth all-time in passing yards (61,582), third in passing touchdowns (456), third in passer rating (97.2), eighth in passing yards per game (259.8) and 13th in completion percentage (63.8). When you factor in New England’s 183-52 regular season record with him under center, the 25-9 record in the postseason and the five titles, it’s nearly impossible to find a quarterback with a comparable resume.

So yeah, Tony Dungy is insane. If you told me he hadn’t showered in six months and submitted his list in from a Unabomber-like shack in the woods after writing a 47,000-word dissertation on how the Tampa 2 defense can still work against modern offenses, I would not be surprised.