Tom Brady was much more important to the Patriots' success than Bill Belichick

It's time that we say the obvious. Tom Brady was much more important to the success of the New England Patriots this century than Bill Belichick. I really don't think this is much of a discussion, either. After the past few seasons, and Belichick's prior seasons as a head coach in the NFL, it's clear that Tom Brady was the main driver of the team's success during the 2000s.

Brady was able to cover up quite a few deficiencies that Belichick still has not been able to ovecome, and I think we could go as far as to say that Belichick's standing as the greatest head coach in NFL history might not be accurate anymore. Perhaps you may disagree, but I think the facts are there.

Bill Belichick is still a good head coach and a defensive mastermind, but I do think some have thought of him too highly as a head coach. The last few years coupled with his tenure as a HC in th NFL before he was with the Patriots is telling. From the 1991-1995 seasons, Belichick was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Obviously, Tom Brady was not in the equation there.

In the 2000 season, Brady's rookie season, he attempted just three passes and was obviously not a part of the team's performance that year. Then, years later, and most recently from 2020-2022, Brady was playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was not a part of the New England Patriots.

Well, what was Belichick's record as a head coach during those years without Tom Brady?

His record was a mediocre 66-80 in the regular season with a non-existent 1-2 record in the postseason. This was across nine seasons of his head coaching career. He went an average of 7.3-8.8 during those seasons in the regular season. In just two of those seasons he sported a winning record, never winning more than 11 games in any season without Tom Brady.

To make matters worse, we all know what Tom Brady did in his first season in Tampa, giving more proof to the idea that he was more responsible for the Patriots' success in the 2000s. In the seasons with Tom Brady from 2001-2019, the Patriots won double-digit games in every year except the 2002 season. The franchise won six Super Bowl championships and went to the big game a whopping nine times.

I think there is solid proof that Tom Brady was much more responsible for the success of the New England Patriots during the 2000s. It's about time we accept that fact.