Patriots gridiron news: Tom Brady has nothing but love for Bill Belichick
New England Patriots Hall-of-Fame Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have a lot of love and admiration for one another, but that doesn’t mean they don’t drive each other crazy.
It’s been over 18 seasons of highs and lows together for New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. So, why are we so surprised that the two may have a little tension from time to time?
Well, the answer is that we shouldn’t be surprised. The fact that these two men have been on the top of the NFL for so long is both amazing and unbelievable. So unbelievable that we tend to search for anything little thing that would tear apart the necessary bond between head coach and franchise quarterback.
This offseason, there has been much talk and speculation about a rift between Belichick and Brady. Did Brady force potential successor Jimmy Garoppolo out of town? Has the whole TB12 Method and personal trainer Alex Guerrero gotten on the last nerve of Belichick? While we all watch from afar, only these two men know what’s really going on.
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We aren’t going to get much from Bill Belichick, this we know. But, what about the outgoing quarterback? Until now, he hasn’t said much.
In fact, his silence and passive aggressive approach has spoken loudest. In a sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey on the OWN Network, which aired Sunday morning.
When bluntly asked if there was something going on between himself and Belichick, Brady answered:
"“No, I wouldn’t say that. I mean, I love him. I love that he is an incredible coach, mentor for me. He’s pushed me in a lot of ways. Like everything, we don’t agree on absolutely everything, but that’s relationships.”"
With that brief statement, Tom Brady summarized an 18-year history of a bond that wouldn’t be a bond without the disagreements and simply being annoyed at one another. To win consistently the way the New England Patriots have, moves have to be made that aren’t popular and approaches have to be taken that make the rest of the league scratch their head.
In a roundabout way, if there wasn’t tension between the greatest coach and greatest quarterback, something would seriously be wrong.
Winning isn’t everything
In coming close to winning his sixth Super Bowl, Tom Brady has found an appreciation in losing. Well, sort of.
In the interview, Brady also reflected upon the 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII. Throwing for over 500 yards, the 40-year-old quarterback certainly did his part to win, but at the end the team simply fell short.
Instead of moping about the loss, Brady took some positive away from it. He used it as a learning moment for his children who haven’t seen their dad loose too often.
"“It was a different year this year,” Brady told Oprah, as transcribed by Boston.com. “In some ways, this year was easier for me than it has been in the past. It’s not that I don’t want to win the same. It’s just there are other really important things as well.”"
When a player is in big moments as much as Tom Brady has been in, the losses start to become easier to manager. While winning is sweeter, the New England Patriots quarterback sees through the eyes of his children that there are other important things in life like being there for his kids.
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In summary, life will go on when Brady finally walks away from the game. His legacy won’t only be how he won in the NFL, it will also be how he lost and bounced back in a league and era where the consistency of winning is difficult to sustain.