What did New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick have to say about Tom Brady?
Having coached the legendary quarterback for a number of years during which they won 6 Super Bowls, the respected tactician gave his thoughts on the signal caller.
With the Patriots set to pay tribute to Tom Brady during their Week 1 clash with the Philadelphia Eagles, it was as good a time as any for their coach to share some of his best memories with the now-retired quarterback.
Bill Belichick talks Tom Brady
As mentioned above, Tom Brady will be a guest of honor for the New England Patriots’ season opener when the campaign kicks off this coming Sunday, September 10th. It will be Brady’s first trip to Foxborough since he announced his retirement earlier this year. Needless to say, the anticipation surrounding Brady’s return is immense as it should be given the impact he had on the franchise. In keeping with that, Pats head coach Bill Belichick was asked during a recent appearance on “The Greg Hill Show” if there were any specific moments that stood out during his time with Brady and this is what he had to say:
“Well, there are six of them that come to mind,” Belichick said, referencing the six Super Bowl titles the two won together. “Can’t say enough about Tom, what he’s meant to this organization, what he’s meant to me personally,” he continued. “He just epitomized everything that you would want in a player. His work ethic, his ability to handle and process a lot of things on and off the field. His critical play-making ability and instinctiveness and anticipation and decision-making at the most critical times in the biggest games in the team’s history, not to mention seasons. For so many years he just set a standard of daily performance, which turned into yearly performance, which turned into not only a Hall of Fame career but probably the best career of all time in the National Football League and he did it on a day-to-day basis. I’d say that was really the biggest thing about Tom that’s so impressive is what you got from him every day was that same level of commitment, work ethic, performance, attention to detail, and, you know, inquisitiveness and coachability. Tom was always looking to get better, and improve, and wanted to find ways to be a little bit better than he was, no matter how good he was, and that’s really a great, great attitude to have from a player and a person of his ability and performance and production.”
But didn’t Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have a bad relationship?
Now, while Brady’s CV is clearly impeccable as he practically holds every worthwhile record in Patriots history, there were numerous reports of a spat between him and Belichick as his time in New England came to an end. That said, neither has ever admitted to such, and quite frankly have only continued to speak very affectionately of each other since parting ways.
If you recall, Belichick actually appeared on Brady’s podcast shortly after the former quarterback announced his retirement. During that appearance, he referred to Brady as the “greatest player.” Not something one would expect from to men who were said to be at odds.