With a combined total of 11 professional championships between them, Tom Brady and Shaquille O’Neal redefined dominance and greatness as players. They now reside behind the analyst desks, while their personal brands, business interests, and net worths grow with every passing year. The two legends have another intriguing factor in common.
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During their all-conquering careers, Brady and Shaq were guided by a pair of equally historic coaches in Bill Belichick and Phil Jackson. Bill and Phil had distinct styles, aura, and approach to coaching, and who better to provide a comparison than two of their greatest players.
Brady and Shaq sat down for a discussion on The Big Podcast, where they ended up comparing their coaches and their experiences playing under them. “I don’t know how your relationship with Belichick was,” O’Neal prefaced toward Brady.
“But the only reason why I respected Phil was because I knew he was a winner. None of my coaches, if they didn’t win, I don’t think I can trust you,” added the NBA legend.
According to Brady, there can be no underselling of the importance there is for a coach to demand greatness. “Part of being a real grownup in life is telling people what they are doing isn’t good enough… You have to learn to develop that skill,” he said.
O’Neal had the benefit of hindsight; he had watched Jackson derive greatness from Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls well before he made it to Los Angeles. Brady, however, didn’t have that.
In building the New England Patriots’ dynasty with Belichick in the 2000s and 2010s, Brady discovered that it’s best if “the coach separates himself from the players, because you’ve got to make hard decisions.” He was able to trust Belichick with those hard decisions, and the result was a legacy similar to the one that Jackson acquired before O’Neal’s arrival.
Shaq then took the time to admit that “I’ve been a Tom Brady fan my whole life, ever since I started watching football,” and was sure to let the seven-time Super Bowl winner know that he is, in fact, “amazing.” Naturally, Brady smiled.
The former Patriot was then asked if he would be ready to go if an NFL team called him today. Despite being 48, Brady confidently asserted that “I would whoop a** right now, to be honest… Give me a month, and I could go play with anybody.”
Seeing as the Indianapolis Colts just rolled out a 44-year-old Philip Rivers in Week 15, it may not be too far-fetched an idea to see Brady out on the field once again. But given his status as both a broadcaster and an owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, it’s likely that he’ll leave his jersey up in the rafters with O’Neal and the rest of their fellow legends.
