Bill Belichick’s surprise appearance in “Let’s Go!” Tom Brady’s podcast featured an outpouring of mutual respect between the two Patriots icons.
It also presented a tough stand from Brady on the endless debate over which of them deserves more credit for the success of the New England dynasty.
“For me, there’s nobody I’d rather be associated with,” Brady said. “From my perspective, I think it’s still a dumb conversation to say ‘Brady versus Belichick’ because, in my mind, that’s not what a partnership is. The coach couldn’t play the quarterback, and I couldn’t coach.
“In my opinion, people were always trying to separate us. I don’t think we’ve ever felt that way with each other. We never tried to separate. In fact, we were always trying to go in the same direction. I think when we were in New England for 20 years together, you know, they got tired of writing the same story. So once they write all the nice stuff and the championships and that, they just start saying, ‘Well, that works, let’s try to split it up.’ I never really liked those ways people tried to do that.
Of course, Brady and Belichick’s relationship soured over their two decades together, and the QB eventually left New England to play his final three NFL seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady, however, said he always respected Belichick and felt the same about his head coach.
“He and I have always had a great relationship and we’ve been dating all the time,” Brady said. “Have we always seen everything in exactly the same way? Who does in life? What close relationship can you have where everything goes like a beautiful sunny day? No, there were times when, you know, it was never intolerable, but it was always fair, I would say healthy debates about certain things, and we always talked about it one-on-one.
“I think that’s one thing I appreciate about Coach Belichick in life: he’s not afraid to have a tough conversation. We didn’t always agree, but we always respected each other. I know he respected me for the work that I did, and I certainly did the same. I think even when you walk away, you probably respect yourself even more. I certainly did because I realized the commitment he was trying to make to make our team win.
On the podcast, Belichick called Brady ‘the greatest player’ and said he had ‘the greatest career’, echoing comments he made in a statement following the announcement of Brady’s retirement. last week.
It’s still unclear how the Patriots plan to honor Brady now that his playing days are over, but team owner Robert Kraft said he hopes the future Hall of Famer signs a contract. a day to end his career with New England.
