Corey Dillon Calls Out Patriots Over Snub: ‘I Earned It’

Corey Dillon helped the New England Patriots win a Super Bowl in 2004, now he wants his old team to do him a good turn. The decorated former running back said he’s “about to get on the Pats’ a**, too” about not being inducted into the franchise’s Hall of Fame.

Dillon made the comments to The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. during an explosive rant that also featured plenty of barbs aimed at the Cincinnati Bengals and Pro Football Hall of Fame voters.

While most of his ire was aimed at the Bengals not putting their all-time leading rusher into their own Ring of Honor, Dillon also revealed he expects enshrinement at Canton: “I want it all. I am coming for it all. You know why? Because I earned it. I’m not one of these borderline guys sitting on my ass reminiscing, talking about, ‘Oh, if I had this, shoulda, coulda, woulda.’ No. I’m justified. Why not? What it does, it breaks down to what I thought initially — which I hope it’s not true — I think they are mad at me for being vocal and going on to win a championship. That’s the only thing I can think of.”

As Dehner detailed, Dillon has a strong statistical case for entering the Hall. It’s a case ratified by a successful three-season stint in New England that brought the curtain down on his career.

Corey Dillon Summed Up Patriots’ Blueprint for Success

The trade that brought Dillion to Gillette Stadium summed up what has set the Patriots apart from the rest of the NFL during head coach Bill Belichick’s tenure. While most of the league would be wary about signing a then 30-year-old running back who’d had issues on and off the field, Belichick jumped at the chance to acquire a veteran with a proven track record for outstanding production.

As former vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli pointed out, the Patriots got outstanding value in the deal.

No. 28 replaced Antowain Smith, another recycled runner, signed from the Buffalo Bills, who had been a huge success. The two signings began Belichick’s affinity for signing veteran backs, a policy that continues to this day.

Dillion’s dominant ’04 campaign yielded nine 100-yard games during the regular season, to go with 144 yards against the Indianapolis Colts in the playoffs. Performances like those earned him “the nickname Clock Killin’ Corey Dillon,” per Dehner.

While Dillon was never able to replicate his epic 2004 season, his production that year has still yet to be bettered by a Patriots’ skill player, according to NESN’s Zack Cox.

Numbers like those have Dillon believing he owns cast-iron credentials to be honored by both the Patriots and Bengals, as well as the broader NFL.

Record-Breaking Runner Has Weaker Case for Patriots’ Recognition

Dehner outlined why Dillion’s omission from the Hall of Fame rates as a surprise. Specifically, Dillon and Fred Taylor are the only two running backs who rushed for more than 10,000 yards, averaged 4.3 yards per carry and scored 70-plus touchdowns, but haven’t been invited to the Hall.

Looking for an answer why, Dillon told Dehner events off the field shouldn’t be a factor: “I don’t want to get into people’s personal business, but there are a lot of Hall of Famers that did far more worse s*** than I did. We can cancel out that excuse. There is no excuse for that. On top of that, I thought the game was predicated on numbers. Are people looking at the numbers like, ‘Nah, nah?’ I don’t think so.

(Dillon was arrested twice in a matter of weeks in 2010, the first time for DUI, the second for spousal abuse, though criminal charges were dropped due to lack of evidence weeks later. The DUI was reduced to a reckless driving charge, and he paid a fine and served two years’ probation. He was also charged with fourth-degree assault in 2000 after an altercation with his then-wife that resulted in a diversion program and donation to a women’s shelter).”

Dillon’s statistics are hall-worthy when put alongside some of his other on-field achievements. Notably, when he broke Walter Payton’s single-game rushing record by amassing 278 yards against the Denver Broncos for the Bengals in 2000.

Performances like that are at the root of Dillon’s animosity toward the Bengals, but his merits to be in the Patriots’ Hall of Fame aren’t as strong. Dillon was a great player who made a difference in 2004, but he joined an already-loaded team coming off a Super Bowl win the previous season.

While his debut year with the Patriots was one for the ages, other honorees produced more. Backs like team Hall of Famer Jim Nance, who twice topped 1,000 yards and was a standout during the franchise’s formative years.

Then there’s Kevin Faulk, who was never a lead workhorse like Dillon but instead thrived as a prolific and versatile third-down weapon in Belichick’s offenses during the first half of the Patriots’ Super Bowl dynasty.

Faulk shone over time, the way other Patriots’ backs like James White have done, but Dillon’s legacy in New England was defined more by brief brilliance rather than enduring greatness. The story would be different had he delivered four-digit rushing seasons on a consistent basis the way he did in Cincinnati.

It’s why the onus is on the Bengals to honor Dillion, but the Patriots can put others in the spotlight.