Before Tom Brady and Bill Belichick had some kind of falling out that resulted in Brady leaving the New England Patriots as a free agent in March 2020, they became the greatest quarterback-coach duo in NFL history as they guided the franchise to six Super Bowl championships.
During the latest episode of the SiriusXM “Let’s Go!” show and podcast, Belichick explained how his work ethic improved not long after New England made Brady the 199th pick of the 2000 NFL Draft.
“Every meeting I went into, I felt like I had to be as well prepared as he was,” Belichick said, as shared by Hayden Bird of Boston.com. “I remember having some meetings where I would say, ‘Well, Tom, you know, I haven’t really seen them do that.’ And Tom was always good about it. He would let me down easy, but he might say, ‘Well, I think I might’ve seen that last year in the game against Seattle.’ And I go back and look at it. Yeah, he did see it and I had missed it. He was hard to coach but in a good way. He made me a better coach.”
Brady’s film-room habits earned him a reputation for being football-obsessed as he continued playing at a MVP level into his 40s. Over the years, numerous members of the football community have debated if Brady or Belichick was more responsible for New England’s dynastic run. However, Les Carpenter noted for The Guardian in February 2017 how the two all-time greats being “locked for hours in a dark film room” during sessions propelled them to greatness together.
“He made me prepare even harder than I would’ve normally prepared just to make sure that I hadn’t missed something that he had seen because he’d studied a little closer maybe than I had,” Belichick added. “And so it forced me to go back and be more attentive and be more detailed even than what I thought I was being. It was a good thing. It was absolutely a good thing.”
Brady is now a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, while Belichick is serving as head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels. Some continue to insist the two could soon reunite due to the fact that the Raiders need a new head coach, but there’s currently no sign Belichick and Brady will partner up one last time before the 72-year-old rides off into the sunset of retirement.
