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Tom Brady or Bill Belichick? Who was responsible for arguably the greatest dynasty that the NFL has ever seen? As Brady retired without initially thanking the New England Patriots (he has since done so), the question arose about whether he deserves more credit than Bill Belichick for New England's success.
The question nearly resolves itself when we look at what happened after they parted ways. Tom Brady went on to win a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and this season he reached the playoffs again, leading the league in some of the major regular season passing stats.
Meanwhile, Bill Belichick failed to get the Patriots to the playoffs last year and they bowed out in the Wild Card round this year. But this simplifies the narrative somewhat. It's always easier for quarterbacks to find a team that just needs a fix in that position to take it to the next level. For coaches, it's harder to find a quarterback of Brady's caliber, never mind anyone else. For instance, the legendary Paul Brown also did not win a championship without Otto Graham.
But even looking at the time Brady and Belichick spent together, it was clear to many that Brady was essentially the key ingredient for the Patriots, perhaps more so than Belichick was. We investigated some of the reasons below.
What Tom Brady brought to the team above Bill Belichick?
#1 - The man in the arena
Tom Brady was the man on the field. Bill Belichick could have set up plays and coached the team in practice, but execution ultimately fell to Brady. The same coaching methods that he has since tried with Cam Newton and Mac Jones have not yielded the same results, which should give an indication of how important Brady was.
The main thing that Brady brought to the team was his accuracy and efficiency. There are many quarterbacks that can get out of tight spots and make amazing throws. But Brady never needed to do so, as he rarely found himself in a tight spot due to his game sense. Brady was clinically precise and executed throws relentlessly, time and time again..
#2 - Value to the organization
Beyond just what he brought on the field, Brady was also the biggest draw for the NFL. He has long been the most marketable face for the league and as well as the Patriots franchise.
His shirt sales, his imagery and simply the price of admission to see him, brought in substantial revenue to the coffers of the New England Patriots. Bill Belichick might be a great coach, but he was never really the reason many fans made the trip to Gillette Stadium. That honor always belonged to the players, with Brady being chief among them.
New England owes more to Tom Brady than to Bill Belichick
#3 - Clutch plays
Coaching is one thing, but Tom Brady personified something on the field that Bill Belichick alone could not do. Which was making the correct on-field decision in late-game high pressure situations. Commonly known as clutch plays, Tom Brady was the master of pulling a rabbit out of the hat whenever you thought he was defeated. Lest anyone have any doubts, they may check with the Atlanta Falcons.
Under pressure to make the correct decision time after time as the play developed on the field was something only Brady could do. He did exceptionally well.
#4 - Winning mentality
Perhaps what sets Tom Brady apart from Bill Belichick the most is his commitment to winning. Most of us are aware that Belichick is the highest paid coach in the league. And no one will begrudge him considering the successes he has had.
But Tom Brady has rarely been the highest-paid quarterback in the league despite being the best quarterback to play the game. He always sacrificed his own earnings to benefit the franchise's salary cap, so that the Patriots could bring in the best tools for them to work with and not only create but sustain the dynasty they built.
Instead, he focused on making himself the winningest quarterback in the league so that he could land many lucrative endorsements which saw him rack up the most off-the-field earnings of any player in the game.
#5 - Leadership of the players
Another reason why Tom Brady was more important than Bill Belichick is because of the loyalty he evoked in players. Belichick is known to be ruthless and does not wait to throw players on the scrapheap. Anyone familiar with how Cam Newton was cut just before the season will know exactly how he operates.
On the other hand, Tom Brady commands respect from those who play with not only out of a sense of duty, but out of the way he treats and inspires them to achieve greatness.
For example, Rob Gronkowski had retired and yet the only person who could tempt him out of retirement was Tom Brady. While Antonio Brown, perhaps almost foolishly, was trusted enough by Brady to embark on a successful Super Bowl-winning run in 2020. That is certainly more than other teams have gotten out of the troubled wideout.
Tom Brady held the players together at the New England Patriots and therefore deserves more credit than the coach for being the foundation upon which the dynasty was built.
