Tom Brady’s exit from the New England Patriots in 2020 sent shockwaves through the NFL and drastically altered the future of multiple franchises. After leading the Patriots to six championships, it seemed unthinkable that Brady would leave the team. As Brady revealed Monday, however, his departure from New England was actually inevitable.
In his newsletter, Brady admitted he left the team after a “natural tension” developed with head coach Bill Belichick. Brady said that tension was building for a few years, and it became clear a split was necessary.
“For me, it was a creeping decision that lived passively in the back of mind for 2-3 years until March of 2020 when a whirlwind of a few days made me realize that a decision was coming sooner rather than later. The reality was, after twenty years together, a natural tension had developed between where Coach Belichick and I were headed in our careers, and where the Patriots were moving as a franchise. It was the kind of tension that could only be resolved by some kind of split or one of us reassessing our priorities.”
There were reports suggesting as much at the time of Brady’s exit. After working together for 20 seasons, Belichick and Brady’s relationship started to deteriorate. There were likely a number of factors involved that made things icy, including Brady’s age and the team’s desire to find an eventual replacement for the Hall of Fame quarterback in the draft.
Those concerns proved to be too much, and Brady left the Patriots to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He led the Bucs to a Super Bowl title in his first season with the team, validating that decision. Brady turned in two more strong seasons with the Buccaneers before retiring from the game for good.
Belichick appeared to find a Brady replacement immediately in rookie Mac Jones. The pair went 10-7 in 2021 but fell to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card round. After a promising rookie season, Jones regressed. The Patriots went 8-9 in 2022 and then 4-13 in 2023. That final season led to Belichick’s dismissal as the team’s head coach.
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick relationship improved
While Brady admitted tension existed with Belichick, that doesn’t appear to be the case now. Time away from each other seemed to heal any animosity between both parties.
That much was clear at Brady’s induction into the Patriots’ Hall of Fame. Belichick appeared at the event and lovingly roasted and praised Brady. When Belichick came out on stage, he and Brady embraced in a lengthy hug and shared some private words with one another. Patriots fans loved the moment, giving Belichick a standing ovation for quite some time.
Brady and Belichick are doing their own things now. Brady just completed his first season as a broadcaster and Belichick took a head-coaching job with UNC. While the two don’t have much time to interact publicly at the moment, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them reunite at future Patriots events often once their schedules clear up.
