It’s a debate as old as football itself: Who plays a bigger role in creating a champion team—a brilliant player or a terrific coach? For Patriots fans in particular, the issue of whether it was Tom Brady or Bill Belichick that really made the Patriots dynasty tick, is a hot-button topic.
Advertisement
It’s also one that’s never likely to be quite settled one way or the other. Fans have tried dissecting every win while analysts have given their takes, but the jury is still out on that one. But another enduring mystery—about the Brady–Belichick relationship—has been finally resolved.
For years, even as the Patriots reigned supreme, there had been whispers of tension behind the scenes between TB12 and Belichick. Neither of the two have ever quite acknowledged the elephant in the room. Till now, that is.
The GOAT has finally made the first move by breaking his silence on the matter. In the latest edition of his weekly newsletter called 199, the seven-time Super Bowl winner finally drew back the curtain on his fractured relationship with Belichick, admitting that by the end of his time in New England, the tension had become impossible to ignore.
“After 20 years together, a natural tension had developed between where Coach Belichick and I were headed in our careers and where the Patriots were moving as a franchise. It was the kind of tension that could only be resolved by either a split or one of us reassessing our priorities.”
The admission was the confirmation many had been waiting for. And as soon as the news broke, the NFL’s favourite podcasting duo of Chad Johnson and Shannon Sharpe had plenty to say about it on Nightcap.
Johnson not surprised at Brady’s revelation
While some fans may not have seen the Patriots legend’s revelation coming, Ocho certainly did. “I mean, we could see that from a mile away,” Johnson reacted bluntly to the news.
As per Ocho, a possible reason behind Brady and Belichick’s tension was the Patriots earmarking Jimmy Garoppolo to be Tom’s successor while the QB was still balling for fun.
Johnson believed that the smart ones would have dissected the outcome of this move easily, by comparing Tom Brady’s situation to other legendary quarterbacks who had seen their eventual replacements arrive before they were ready to step aside.
“Why do you think Aaron Rodgers felt the way he did when they got Jordan Love? Why do you think Brett Favre felt the way he did when they got Aaron Rodgers? The writing was already on the wall. Brady understood that… “That’s why he had to go upstairs and talk to the higher-ups. ‘Listen, I don’t want this over my back. I don’t want this over my shoulder.'”
Ocho’s co-host, Sharpe unsurprisingly echoed similar sentiments as well.
Shannon Sharpe delves into Bill Belichick’s succession philosophy
Unc added further nuance to Ocho’s point by referring to the infamous Seth Wickersham article for Sports Illustrated, where the journalist detailed the power struggle between Brady and Belichick over Jimmy Garoppolo.
“Everybody saw it. Everybody saw it when that Seth Wickersham article came out. Yeah, and they were talking about Jimmy G. It was only a matter of time.”
Sharpe then took a deep dive into Belichick’s philosophy, explaining how the legendary coach had always planned for the future and never hesitated to move on from aging stars—something the Broncos legend believed the Croatian imbibed from other NFL teams.
“If you study the 49ers, after 10 years, Bill Walsh started moving off guys like Ronnie Lott and Roger Craig. The philosophy was to get rid of a player one year too early rather than one year too late. Belichick studied that history and said, ‘You know what? If we don’t have that bridge, we’ll be like the Steelers before Roethlisberger or the Dolphins after Marino.’”
But the problem, according to Sharpe, was that Brady wasn’t just another ageing player.
“Tom was saying, ‘Hold on. I’m going to the Super Bowl every other year. I’m still an MVP candidate. And you’re telling me I’m slipping?’”
Sharpe then pointed to that one moment, which in his eyes, made it clear that Brady’s time in New England was over—his contract restructuring.
“When they redid Tom’s contract and didn’t add years—just took that bonus and gave it to him—I said, ‘It’s done.’ He’s not coming back.”
Shannon Sharpe concluded his take by stating a simple fact—Tom Brady was able to win a Super Bowl without Bill Belichick, something the Patriots HC couldn’t do without the GOAT, which, per him, said all that needed to be said. Do you agree?
