Bill Belichick Gave His Brutally Honest Take on Why Tom Brady Was ‘Absolutely Right’ to Leave Patriots

Belichick also opened up about his rumored feud with Brady.

Former Patriots coach Bill Belichick opened up about Tom brady’s departure from the team back in 2020. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Tom Brady devastated Patriots fans in 2020 when he announced he’d be leaving the organization after 20 seasons and six Super Bowl wins in New England.

While Brady’s decision to head to the Buccaneers for the 2020 season left Patriots fans in dismay and gave them complicated feelings, the quarterback’s longtime coach, Bill Belichick, seemed to be more understanding than the fanbase, at least that’s what he says now.

Belichick, who coached four more seasons in New England after Brady left, opened up about Brady’s Patriots departure this week on Hang Out with Sean Hannity. The UNC coach gave his honest opinion on the legendary quarterback’s decision to leave, and he was extremely understanding of Brady’s decision. It sounds like Belichick knew the dynasty with Brady in New England was over, and it was time for the quarterback and the fanbase to move on.

“Tom leaving was absolutely the right thing for him to do," Belichick said. “We didn't have a good team in 2020. We just didn't have a good football team. We had all those guys that left—[Rob] Gronkowski and [Julian] Edelman. Most of our team was gone. [Devin] McCourty and a few others were still there, but they were about to go, too. We were just at the end.

“And honestly, I was happy for him that things worked out well for him in Tampa, because he was with a team ... and then he went on and won. That made me happy for him, because Tom—it wouldn't have gone well in 2020 in New England. On this, I can guarantee that.”

Without Brady in the 2020 season, the 7–9 Patriots failed to make the playoffs for the first time since the ‘08 season. The streak of 11-straight AFC East titles came to an end as the Patriots looked to rebuild without their future Hall of Fame quarterback. New England did bounce back more in 2021 as it reached the wild-card round of the playoffs.

What Belichick said about rumored feud with Brady

When Brady originally left in 2020, rumors circulated that Belichick and the quarterback weren’t on the best terms. However, since then, both Brady and Belichick have dispelled these rumors and continue to share mutual respect for one another. Brady even recently wrote a passionate note in defense of Belichick after it was announced the coach didn’t make the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first ballot.

Belichick spoke very highly of Brady during his interview this week. Here’s what he had to say about his longtime quarterback:

“I learned so much from Tom. I never played quarterback,” Belichick said. “Tom saw the game through a quarterback's eyes. I saw the games through a coach's eyes. Together, I think we both learned a lot from each other. Tom, how defensive coaches looked at him or looked at offense. Me, on what a quarterback can do and what he can't do, what's hard, what's easy, what I can see, what I can't see, and how you see the game.​

“Tom wasn't a dominant personality. He was just a great leader. He would do whatever you asked him to do. Honestly, if you told him to go out there and run a reverse and block the defensive end, he'd go block the defensive end. He'd do whatever the team needed him to do, and he was very competitive.”

What Belichick said about the ending of Brady’s tenure with the Patriots

Even though there’s no beef between one of the greatest coach–quarterback duos in NFL history, Belichick does take some responsibility for Brady’s departure. He felt like the Patriots could’ve done more to continue building around Brady, but it was clear they needed a restart in 2020.

“I wish we could have done more, but we went as far as we could,” Belichick continued. “And look, he proved it—he played longer than anybody, played at a higher level than anybody. And again, tremendous credit to him. Nobody else did that—that was him.”

Belichick and Brady accomplished more than any other coach–quarterback duo can say in NFL history. They won six Super Bowls together (appeared in nine total) and won 11 straight AFC East titles amongst other impressive accolades. However, their storied tenure together didn’t end on a strong note as the Patriots were eliminated from the wild-card round in the 2019 season.

As Belichick said, though, Brady’s departure proved worth it for the quarterback as he went on to win another Super Bowl ring with the Buccaneers during three seasons there.

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