Bill Belichick Opens Up About Tom Brady Leaving New England

The dynamic between Bill Belichick and Tom Brady has been under the microscope with Brady’s return to New England looming this weekend.

Last week, Brady’s dad and trainer had some comments about Bill Belichick’s role in Tom Brady leaving New England for Tampa Bay.

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During media availability on Monday, Bill Belichick was asked why Tom Brady left the Patriots for bigger and better things. Once again, Belichick rejected the notion that he ever wanted the GOAT to leave.

“Yeah, well I think we’ve been through all the dynamics of that. There were a lot of things there that … he looked at his options and made his decision. We weren’t as good an option as Tampa, so I mean, you’d have to ask him about all of that,” Belichick said via WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show. “But that’s really … it wasn’t a question of not wanting him. That’s for sure.”

After leaving Bill Belichick, Tom Brady would famously go on to win the Super Bowl in year one with Bruce Arians and the Bucs.

“Tom and I had a, I feel like a good relationship and a lot of production, obviously, while we were together. And I enjoyed coaching Tom, and he was a great player for us,” Belichick said Monday. “Sunday night, we line up across from Tampa—not just him, but the entire team. They’re obviously a good team. So it’s all about our team competing against Tampa’s team.

“…Certainly Tom is a special player, I’m not trying to put him in the same category as a guy who was here for a year or something like that. But at the same time, you’re competing against the team you are playing against, and that’s what you do.”

It’s definitely going to be emotional when Tom Brady returns to Foxboro this weekend. And fans will undoubtedly be left wishing that Bill Belichick had found a way to keep him around for the remainder of his career.


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