Tom Brady Shares Thoughts On Brady Vs. Belichick Debate Ahead Of Super Bowl LV

Tom Brady or Bill Belichick? Brady wants no part of that debate.

During Westwood One Radio’s Super Bowl LV pregame show, the 43-year-old quarterback was asked whether he believes it’s important for him to win a championship without Belichick.

“I’ve never once in my life thought about that,” Brady told interviewer Jim Gray. “That’s a very hypothetical situation for me to — I think that’s definitely a conversation that people like to have because in the end, it just can create some entertainment.

“Coaches don’t play, and players don’t coach. You need great coaches, and you need great players, and that’s the way the sport works. It’s not an individual sport. It’s a team sport.”

Brady and Belichick reached nine Super Bowls and won six during their 20 seasons together with the New England Patriots. The former left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last offseason and immediately led that perennially mediocre franchise to an NFC championship while his former team finished 7-9 and missed the playoffs.

The Bucs’ run to Super Bowl LV reignited the Brady vs. Belichick debate. Former Patriots receiver Danny Amendola kicked off Super Bowl week by saying Brady deserves the most credit for New England’s unparalleled run of success. Other current and former Patriots have shared opposing viewpoints.

How does Brady feel?

“The only thing that (debate) does is it tries to create division either inside your team that the outside wants to tear apart what you’ve accomplished,” he told Gray. “I don’t think that’s an argument that I’ve ever wanted to be a part of, thought to be a part of. I’ve greatly appreciated what I’ve learned from the coaching mentors that I’ve had — certainly Coach Belichick.

“I couldn’t be who I am without those amazing coaches that I’ve had, and I couldn’t be the player I am without all the other playing mentors I’ve had. In the end, to me, it’s all irrelevant. The greatest joy I have in sports is living up to my potential for my team and being the best that I can for my team, and that’s what motivates me. That’s 100 percent of my motivation.”

Those comments echo remarks Brady made to radio host Howard Stern after he signed with the Buccaneers last March.

“I think it’s a pretty (expletive) argument, actually, that people would say that,” Brady said in April. “Because I can’t do his job, and he can’t do mine. So the fact that you could say, ‘Would I be successful without him?’ — the same level of success — I don’t believe I would have been. But I feel the same and vice versa, as well. To have him allowed me to be the best I can be, so I’m grateful for that, and I very much believe he feels the same about me, because we’ve expressed that to each other.”

Brady’s Bucs will face Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night at Raymond James Stadium.

Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images