What really happened in the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady Patriots split that ended in the quarterback joining the Buccaneers?
Last week, Brady’s father Tom Brady Sr. joined “Tom Curran’s Patriots Talk Podcast” and said “[Bill] Belichick wanted [Brady] out the door” at the end of his 20-year tenure in New England.
Brady Sr. explained that “Tommy” is “more than happy that he’s moved on because it was pretty obvious that the Patriot regime felt that it was time for him to move on.”
Belichick, though, denied that claim when he was asked about his breakup with Brady while on “The Greg Hill Show” Monday morning.
“Well, I think we’ve been through all of the dynamics of that,” Belichick said about Brady’s exit in New England. “There were a lot of things there — he looked at his options and made his decision. We weren’t as good of an option as Tampa. You’d have to ask him about all that, but it wasn’t a question of not wanting him that’s for sure.”
Belichick said, “It never changed,” when asked about his repetitive past comments that there is no other quarterback he’d rather have in New England than Brady.
“Tom and I had I feel like a good relationship and a lot of production, obviously, while we were together. I enjoyed coaching Tom. He was a great player for us,” Belichick said.
Brady tested free agency in 2020 and a signed a two-year deal with Tampa Bay, winning a Super Bowl in his first season away from Belichick — after winning six titles on the Patriots with Belichick. The Bucs extended Brady’s contract this offseason in a deal that will keep the future Hall of Famer in Tampa through the 2022 season.
Belichick also discussed facing Brady on Sunday when the Patriots host the Bucs on “Sunday Night Football,” marking Brady’s first time ever as a visitor at Gillette Stadium.
“Sunday night we line up across from Tampa and not just him, but the entire team. They are obviously a very good team, so that’s all about our team competing against Tampa’s team,” Belichick said.
Belichick’s comments came a few days after Brady’s trainer and TB12 business partner, Alex Guerrero, called the breakup “a Bill thing” in a separate interview with the Boston Herald.
“I think his emotions or feelings never evolved with age,” Guerrero said, adding that as Brady aged, “I think Bill was still trying to treat him like that 20-year-old kid that he drafted.”