When Tom Brady decided to leave the New England Patriots in 2020 and test the waters of free agency, the debate over the legendary quarterback’s career turned from which team he would sign with to who deserved more credit for the organization’s success: him or Bill. Belichick.
Brady and Belichick won six Super Bowl titles together, but after the 2019 season ended with a playoff loss to the Tennessee Titans, the quarterback left and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The credit debate continued once Brady led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title.
Brady ended the debate Monday on the final episode of «Come on!» podcast.
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Tom Brady of the New England Patriots speaks with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and head coach Bill Belichick before the Houston Texans game at Gillette Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
«I think, for me, there’s nobody I’d rather be associated with and I think, from my point of view, I think it’s always such a stupid conversation to say ‘Brady vs. Belichick’ because, in my opinion, that’s not what it’s about. deal with associations». Brady explained. “Coach couldn’t play quarterback and I couldn’t coach. The best part of football is, and the coach says it a lot, ‘Do your job.’ And he asked me to play quarterback. He didn’t ask me to be a coach… From my point of view, it was just people who were always trying to tear us apart and I don’t think we ever felt that between us. We never tried. separate us. In fact, we were always trying to go in the same direction and I think when we were in New England for 20 years together, you know, they got tired of writing the same story.
“So, you know, once they write down all the good stuff and the championships and this, they just start saying, ‘Okay, this works, let’s start trying to split them up.’ I never really appreciated those ways that people were trying to do that. Him and I always had a great relationship and we hung out all the time and we always saw everything in exactly the same way? Who does it in life? What close relationship can you have? where everything goes, you know, like a bright sunny day No, there are times that, you know, it was never intolerable, but it was always fair, I would say healthy debates about certain things, and we always talked about it face to face. to face. I think there’s one thing I appreciate about Coach Belichick in life is that he’s not afraid to have a tough conversation, too. And we didn’t always agree, but we always respect each other. I know he respected me for the work I did. and I certainly did the same. And I think even when they walk away, they probably respect each other a lot more. I certainly did it because I realized the commitment he was trying to make in order for our team to win.»
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady hugs head coach Bill Belichick after winning the AFC Championship game at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, January 21, 2018. (Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
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Belichick, who was also on the podcast, added that he always believed players won championships and that it was his job to make sure his team was in the right position to succeed.
The Patriots have been able to be more successful than most since 2000.
“I’ve always said this, Tom has heard it every year over and over again. ‘Players win games, players win games.’ You can’t win games without great players, and coaches can lose them. If coaches don’t give players a good chance, give them a chance where they can have a fair fight and they can win with their skill, then, you know, great players can’t get over bad training,» Belichick said.
Tom Brady of the New England Patriots speaks with head coach Bill Belichick after the Patriots defeated the Rams 13-3 during Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 3, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
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«So for me, my job was always to give the team a chance to win, to put together a good team. And you know, Tom was the best player on many, many good teams we’ve had, but it’s the teams that win.» championships. I would say one thing about Tom that was always impressive is how he was on target every week. He had the target on his back every week and every week he surpassed and delivered…Ultimately, again, of all the things that Tom was great at, I think that was really his best quality, he made everyone who surrounding them were better and he used the skills that those players had and avoided the ones that maybe they weren’t as good.»