Patriots: Tom Brady expands on postgame talk with Bill Belichick
By Adam Weinrib
Don’t expect Tom Brady to ever spill the beans in full on his end-of-game reunion with Bill Belichick, but the greatest quarterback of all time just gave fans a little more insight into what the two talked about after Patriots-Bucs on Sunday night.
It’s possible, though, that Seth Wickersham was in the corner with a tape recorder hiding in a potted plant, so perhaps someday we’ll get the full text of the conversation.
Essentially, Brady provided us more proof that just because things got stale doesn’t mean there was love lost.
After a hard-fought 19-17 Patriots loss that was one doink away from victory, Belichick was spotted entering the Buccaneers’ locker room and calling Brady aside. According to sources, they spoke for nearly 20 minutes in private.
When prodded on the meeting Tuesday morning, Brady expanded mostly on how nice it was to get to spend time with the man who coached him for two decades, and who he’ll be inextricably linked with forever.
No matter what rift ultimately led to his departure, clearly there’s no lingering or dangerous ill will.
Brady called it a good way for both to end the night.
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) October 5, 2021
Tom Brady explained his meeting with Patriots HC Bill Belichick
Certainly, this conversation went longer and delved deeper than their on-field hug, which seemed to last just long enough to be captured by a camera.
Brady got the better of his old head coach in the pouring rain but, well … not by much. He cracked the Patriots’ 30-yard line five times and came away with four field goals, repeatedly misfiring in less-than-ideal conditions. It was a must-win, bragging rights game for Belichick, but TB12 really needed this one, too, especially coming off a road loss to the Rams. He barely got it.
In the wake of the loss, Belichick’s press tour has been a bit frostier than his ex-protégé’s. Wickersham’s book still looms on the horizon, professing the type of friction that Brady’s dad boasted about last week.
According to the head coach, he has no idea what the writer is talking about, and is going with the denial route.
Was just asked about this in an interview. Curious thing for him to say. We've spoken many times over the years, recorded and on record, for stories both on Brady and himself: An hour on his coaching tree, 45 min on Ken Shipp and learning offense; 20 min on the draft process, etc https://t.co/vZRecz8wsw
— Seth Wickersham (@SethWickersham) October 5, 2021
Did the relationship between the two grow old and repetitive? Sure, especially after Brady sacrificed comfort and money annually for the good of the head coach’s ego.
But that doesn’t mean things have frayed beyond repair. You heard it straight from Brady’s mouth in the wake of the win. He intends to spend plenty of time in New England being embraced by the community following his eventual retirement, presumably in 2043.
He’s just got some more winning to do first.
