From 2001 to 2019, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick created the most prolific dynasty in NFL history, winning six Super Bowls and appearing in nine while winning nearly every AFC East title and a record number of AFC title games in that span.
But in the years since the two parted ways, one question has remained: Who was more important to the dynasty's success - Brady or Belichick? For nearly everyone, the question was decisively answered "Brady" in 2020 when he led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl.
For Brady though, the question is not only unanswered, it's also "dumb." Appearing on the New Heights show, Brady declared that Belichick is the greatest coach ever in terms of preparation and wouldn't want any other coach in NFL history.
“I think he’s the greatest head coach in terms of preparing a team to win,” Brady said of Belichick. “There was nobody better. It was my privilege to play for him as his quarterback. There’s no coach I’d rather choose, and it’s a dumb analogy. It’s like, what’s more important, the left tackle or the center?”
“There’s nobody more important to winning Monday through Saturday than the head coach. There’s nobody more important on Sunday than the quarterback. Now, everybody’s important… The quarterback just has an outsized ability to help the team win because he touches the ball so much. But I need everybody to do their job.
“If you have bad quarterback play, it doesn’t matter what else you do, you’re not gonna win. And if you have bad coaching, it doesn’t matter how well the players are doing, you’re gonna lose.”
The right argument?
Brady can say that and believe it with all of his heart, but at the end of the day, the numbers really don't justify that overwhelming confidence he had in Belichick. Without Brady on his side, Belichick was an average head coach who had one winning season in six seasons before Brady became the starter and only one winning season in four after Brady left.
Had Belichick stopped coaching when Brady left, maybe that argument could have been made. But the sample size is just too great to justify saying that Belichick was truly one of the greats when he didn't have Brady on his side.
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And the fans know it:
"Tom taking the high road but it’s obviously him lol. The split proved it," one user on X remarked.
"As always, Tom Brady is very polite! Because the correct answer is 'I was the most important, obviously!'” wrote another.
"Spoiler alert: it was Brady," a third wrote.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame voters may have agreed on that point, which may be why they snubbed the man with more Super Bowl rings than any other from a spot in Canton on the first go.
