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When Tom Brady decided to leave the New England Patriots in 2020 and test the free-agent waters, the debate over the legendary quarterback’s career went from what team he would sign with to who deserved more credit for the success of the organization – 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 again once Brady led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title.
Brady put the debate to bed on Monday in the latest episode of the “Let’s Go!” podcast.
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Tom Brady of the New England Patriots talks with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and head coach Bill Belichick before the Houston Texans game at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 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 that from my standpoint, I think it’s always such a stupid conversation to say ‘Brady vs. Belichick’ because in my mind that’s not what partnerships are about,” Brady explained. “Coach couldn’t play quarterback and I couldn’t coach. The best part about football is, and coach says it a lot, ‘Do your job.’ And he asked me to play quarterback. He didn’t ask me to coach.… In my view it was just people always trying to pull us apart and I don’t think we ever even felt that with each other. We never were trying to pull each other apart. We actually 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 get tired of writing the same story.
“So, you know, once they write all the nice things and championships and this and then they just start going, ‘Well this works, let’s start trying to divide them.’ I never really appreciated those ways that people would try to do that. He and I always had a great relationship and we met all the time and did we always see everything exactly the same way? Who does in life? What close relationship can you have where everything goes, you know, like a bright sunny day? No, there are moments that, you know, it was never intolerable, but it was always just, I would say healthy debates about certain things, and we always talked about it face to face. I think there’s one thing I appreciate about coach Belichick in life is he’s not afraid to have a hard conversation too. And we didn’t always agree but we always respected each other. I know he respected me for the job that I did and I certainly did the same. And I think even when you go away from each other you respect each other probably that much more. I certainly did because I realized the commitment that he was trying to make to get 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, Jan. 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 succeed more than most since 2000.
“I’ve always said this, Tom’s heard it every year time after time. ‘Players win games, players win games.’ You can’t win games without great players, and coaches can lose ’em. If coaches don’t give the players a good opportunity, give them a chance where they can have a fair fight and can win on their ability, then, you know, great players can’t overcome bad coaching,” Belichick said.
Tom Brady of the New England Patriots talks to head coach Bill Belichick after the Patriots defeat the Rams 13-3 during Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Feb. 3, 2019, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
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“So to me, my job was always (to) give the team a chance to win, put together a good team. And you know, Tom was the greatest player on many, many good teams that we had, but it’s teams that win championships. I’d say the one thing about Tom that it was always impressive is how he was the target every week. He had the bull’s-eye on his back every week and every week he came through and delivered.… Ultimately, again, of all the things that Tom was great at I think that was really his top quality, was he made everybody around him better and utilized the skills that those players had and avoided the ones maybe they weren’t as good at.”
