Tom Brady and Bill Belichick led the New England Patriots through two decades of NFL dominance and combined to win six Vince Lombardi Trophies during their time there.
However, the relationship between the coach and the now-retired Patriots Dynasty quarterback often comes up in conversations. Brady was drafted in the sixth round of the 2000 draft and spent 20 seasons in New England. He left after the 2019 season and joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with whom he won another Super Bowl.
Belichick was an assistant coach with the Patriots during the 1996 season and returned to New England as the team's head coach the same year Brady was drafted.
Despite spending so many years together and achieving unprecedented levels of success, by all accounts the partnership between Brady and Belichick was a simple transaction. But longtime team owner Robert Kraft recently detailed how the relationship ultimately changed.
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During a recent appearance on the nationally syndicated Breakfast Club radio show, Kraft remembers the moment Brady told him about his decision to leave New England.
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“I will never forget… I think it was in March (2020). He lived near me. (Brady) came to my house and I opened the door. He started crying,” Kraft said.
“And he hugged me and said, 'I've made my decision. I'm leaving the Patriots after 20 years.” “Normally we would have franchised someone like that, but I kept my word and it was one of the worst days – it's like losing a child.”
Kraft noted that he told Brady that he “wouldn't allow the Bills or the team to franchise (tag) you,” which suggests Belichick may have wanted to keep the quarterback job to keep him under contract with yet another organization. season
Brady, however, was granted the autonomy to make the decisions he believed were best for him, and the NFL icon ultimately moved to Tampa Bay.
Kraft said Brady was emotional as he prepared to leave New England and pointed out that the rift between quarterback and coach weighed heavily on Brady.
“She cried the whole time she had to leave us. I understood. For the last decade she has lived in a system that has been very difficult for her,” Kraft said.
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Brady and Belichick have never even had dinner together, Brady's father, Tom Brady Sr., said in 2017.
“They never even went to lunch or dinner,” Brady Sr. said. “That's not what they do.”
Earlier this year, Brady Sr. also suggested that Belichick's lack of interpersonal skills directly contributed to the Patriots' downfall.
“Bill is tough,” he told the Boston Globe. “He runs the military system. It's a different generation. Bill is a great, great, great coach. But his people skills are great. This is the most important thing.”
In May, Brady and Belichick were seen mending fences when the coach “took a few jabs at the former quarterback as a joke.”Tom Brady Roast”
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