Brady's Father Reveals Feelings About Patriots Ex Belichick: 'Ego Got in His Way'
After quarterback Tom Brady left coach Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots in 2020, the two pillars of the team's dynastic run have gone in drastically different directions when it comes to their legacy.
Brady's legacy only grew stronger, as the legendary quarterback won his NFL-record seventh Super Bowl in his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and finished as the MVP runner-up a year later. On the other hand, Belichick's Patriots haven't come anywhere close to the same glory since Brady's departure, going 29-38 with only one brief playoff appearance in four years.
Since the two men parted ways, the debate over who was more responsible for New England's success have only intensified. Many have attributed most of that success to Brady, but even his own father, Tom Brady Sr., acknowledges that both the coach and quarterback were instrumental to the dynasty.
“I don’t think it’s fair what I’ve seen everybody saying that it’s all Tom,” Brady Sr. told The Boston Globe. “Bill is the best coach in football, bar none. The last three or four years of his tenure in New England have been in the dumper. It’s too bad.”
However, Brady Sr.'s feelings on Belichick are a bit more complicated. While he has great admiration for Belichick, he's not oblivious to the fact that the coach's abrasive personality is at least part of what drove his son away from New England. Brady Sr. even went so far as to call Belichick's interpersonal skills as "horrible."
“How many times has he said — back in ‘15 or ‘16 — that he wanted to win without Tommy? When he went without Tommy, he didn’t know what he was losing," Brady Sr. said. "You’re losing more than just a quarterback.
“Ego sometimes gets in the way of things. I think it did with Bill. Now, he’s in a situation where he’s gotten crucified for the last few years by everybody and a lot of luster has come off his rose.”
Brady Sr. also detailed an interaction with Patriots owner Robert Kraft in September, when the younger Brady returned to New England to see his number retired. According to the elder Brady, Kraft told him that letting the younger Brady walk in 2020 was "a mistake," which is clear to see from the Patriots' record since then.
Four years later, Belichick has now left the Patriots as well to officially sever any remaining ties to the dynasty days.
Belichick is still interested in coaching, and he interviewed twice with the Atlanta Falcons before they decided to go with Raheem Morris instead. However, with the Washington Commanders being the only team to still have a head-coaching opening, it seems likely that Belichick may have to take a year off and reflect on what he can do differently.
“Bill loves coaching,” Brady Sr. said. “But again, I don’t know if teams look at Bill — he’s 71 now — I don’t know that they’re going to bend over backward for him, to provide him the full array of control that he wants to have. That’s the bottom line."
