Who Made Who? The Real Truth Behind Tom Brady and Bill Belichick’s Dynasty

On September 22, 2001, something happened, rather innocuously, that catapulted a legacy. On a routine scramble and attempt to get out of bounds, New England Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe was hit by opposing linebacker Mo Lewis of the Jets. It was a hard hit, but didn’t appear to be all that serious. However, it was nearly life-threatening. When Bledsoe was taken in for evaluation, medical staff found that he had a collapsed lung and suffered severe internal bleeding. When it was all said and done, Bledsoe would recover over time and play a bit more in the NFL. But because he was taken out of the contest, the backup quarterback put his clipboard down and entered the game. That backup was none other than Tom Brady. It was the moment that set in motion a legendary run for Brady, head coach Bill Belichick, and the Patriots. Over the course of the next 19 years, Belichick and Brady reeled off 17 division titles, and hoisted six Lombardi trophies; legendary stuff the league has never seen.

Was Brady’s success due to the expert tutelage of Belichick? Many people would argue that it was. However, I am on the other side of the fence in this debate. I contend that Brady made Belichick, not the other way around. 

Brady came in, and the Patriots began to roll, unlike when his predecessor was calling the signals. Brady was poised, calm, collected; a true field general. When he left New England and suited up for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he turned around a team that had gone 7-9 the season before his arrival. Brady engineered an 11-5 record in his first year as a Buc, and he won another Super Bowl. Like many athletes do, he hung on longer than he should have, and didn’t close his storied career out on top. But it did not tarnish all that he had accomplished. Belichick, on the other hand, would not find success in the post-Brady era in New England. In the first year without TB12 at quarterback, Belichick would suffer a 7-9 record, finishing just 3rd out of the four teams in the AFC East. In the subsequent years as the Pats head coach without Brady under center, Belichick went 27-34, and all told as a head coach, he amassed 70 career wins, while being dealt 91 losses. 

As a duo, Belichick and Brady set the league on fire, dominating the AFC East, and taking down the best the NFC had to offer six times. They had a unique chemistry, though oftentimes tense, that worked in unprecedented fashion. It was not all a joy ride for the pair during their time together in Foxboro. As Brady said about moving on from the Patriots in his weekly newsletter, “For me, it was a creeping decision…the reality was, after 20 years together, a natural tension had developed between where Coach Belichick and I were headed in our careers…it was the kind of tension that could only be resolved by some kind of split or one of us reassessing our priorities.”  

Hall of Fame and legendary ESPN broadcaster, Mike Greenberg definitely pulled no punches on who he thought was more responsible for the Patriots success in this clip from the show Get Up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mByQNAqDwX0

But, the fact that Brady had success without Belichick, and Belichick certainly didn’t enjoy any real prosperity without Brady, is the true indicator of who made who in this neverending debate.