"Bet you there are some underlying things" - Julian Edelman believes Bill Belichick's biggest motivation to continue remains beating Tom Brady

Bill Belichick has been around for a long time. However, the head coach shows no signs of slowing down. While Sean Payton decided he had enough after one year without Drew Brees, Belichick is in deep with his second starting quarterback since Brady left.

Former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman gave his thoughts on the head coach's longevity when speaking on Pardon My Take on Friday. Edelman thinks the Patriots head coach is still so invested in football that the idea of living without it is as close to hell as one could get.

“I don't think he thinks like that," Edelman said. "I think it motivates him more. Cause he’ll see things... That dude, he loves every bit of the process... he loves that. He doesn’t love that they lost, but turn the page literally probably... next Tuesday on treadmill looking at draft, looking at how we need to do it... self-scout... We got to look at our team. What are we gonna do? He's thinking about all that right now.

"It could have changed this past year, I wasn't in the building, I don't know. But... from when I left, he had the same routine to the exact tee every single year. You didn't see any complacency kick in."

The juciest part was that Edelman thought Brady was part of the fuel keeping the coach going. The competition between the two has kept the player and the coach on the field much longer than most thought.

"I think he just honestly loves football to the point where he wants to go out there, and there are probably some underlying, competitive things with Tom, I bet you there is,” Edelman said.

Why have Tom Brady and Bill Belichick stuck around for so long?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers v New England Patriots

How badly does the head coach want to beat his old quarterback? Perhaps it isn't about beating him as much as it could be about outlasting him. Both the head coach and the player are fighting age at their respective positions. Of course, Brady is blowing expectations out of the water at his position. That said, Belichick is well into the retirement age zone as a head coach at nearly 70 years old.

Perhaps this tacit competition has been the true reason for their continued tenure in the NFL. Those who have spent enough time around the older generation know that some of them pat themselves on the back for outlasting acquaintances around their age.

There could be a similar competition between Brady and Belichick. Perhaps when both officially retire, they can clear the air on why they stuck around for such a long time.