Tom Brady Sr. blames Bill Belichick's "horrible" skill for Patriots downfall
Throughout the 20 years Tom Brady spent with the Patriots, we didn't often get answers from him about some of the issues rumored to be happening behind closed doors. As time went on, though, we started to hear from his father, Tom Sr., who has historically been so honest with his words that the quarterback has tried to prevent him from speaking to the media.
Although that may have been the plan a few years ago, Tom Sr. is back at it with a new interview in the Boston Globe this week.
The proud father of the legendary quarterback has never shied away from expressing his true feelings on any situation, especially since his son departed from the Patriots nearly four years ago. He spoke about that with the Globe's Christopher Gasper this week, sharing his current viewpoint on the situation, emphasizing a lingering frustration toward Bill Belichick.
He discussed the type of coach Belichick is known to be, referring to it as a "military system" that was more common years ago while crediting him for being a good coach. However, he believes there is one fatal flaw in how he conducts himself, which he likely believes is the reason for Brady leaving New England.
"Bill is tough. He runs a military system. It’s a different generation. Bill is a great, great, great coach. But his interpersonal skills are horrible. That’s the bottom line."
He wouldn't be the first nor the last to criticize Belichick's seeming lack of people skills, and given what we know now about the circumstances that forced Brady to leave the team, it probably is fair to say it played a big part in the decision.
And with that in mind, Tom Sr. shared that the situation with his son has cast a shadow over Belichick as he is looking for a new job this offseason, which ultimately led to the downfall of the Patriots and Robert Kraft's decision to part ways with the tenured head coach.
Tom Brady Sr. dives into how past mistakes have led Bill Belichick to his current situation
Because Belichick is still on the outside looking in and will have to wait until next year to get back into coaching, Tom Sr. reiterated his alleged battle of wanting to cut or trade Brady as early as 2016.
Because it eventually happened, and the team fell from its throne, he believes it exposed Belichick to those who would have typically considered hiring him but decided to pass instead.
"How many times has he said — back in ‘15 or ‘16 — that he wanted to win without Tommy? When he went without Tommy, he didn’t know what he was losing. You’re losing more than just a quarterback. Ego sometimes gets in the way of things. I think it did with Bill. Now, he’s in a situation where he’s gotten crucified for the last few years by everybody and a lot of luster has come off his rose."
Besides his expected bias, he reiterated a point that many in the media believe has made teams question Belichick's fit for their team: his expected preference of building his own staff from top to bottom, including holding the general manager title.
"Bill loves coaching. But again, I don’t know if teams look at Bill — he’s 71 now — I don’t know that they’re going to bend over backward for him, to provide him the full array of control that he wants to have. That’s the bottom line. He could probably turn up somewhere and find 16 games [to win] in two years or three. But if he’s out after that, and the team has reformulated their front office to accommodate his wishes … from their standpoint, I don’t know if the magic is worth the accommodations that they have to make."
Maybe his opinion is wrapped in a grudge over how his son's situation was handled a few years ago, but he makes a fair point that many believe to be the case with Belichick, especially since he was considered the best available candidate for any head coach vacancy this offseason.
Whether or not this experience will force Belichick to change his strive for ultimate power on his next team is yet to be seen, but it may need to happen if he wants to keep coaching and beat Don Shula's winning record.