The Big Lead

Tom Brady breaks silence on Bill Belichick's new job

By J.P. Hoornstra

Jan 20, 2019; Kansas City, MO, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady (12) celebrate the win over the Kansas City Chiefs during overtime in the AFC Championship game at Arrowhead Stadium.
Jan 20, 2019; Kansas City, MO, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady (12) celebrate the win over the Kansas City Chiefs during overtime in the AFC Championship game at Arrowhead Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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Tom Brady said "it kind of blew me away" when he learned this week that Bill Belichick was accepting the job to become the head coach at the University of North Carolina.

That Brady – he's just like the rest of us.

Belichick's shocking career move even surprised the man he worked with from 2001-19, leading the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl victories along the way.

"I didn't think that was an opportunity he was looking at," Brady said during Fox's broadcast of the Steelers-Eagles game on Sunday.

Kevin Burkhardt, Brady's broadcast partner, asked Brady to speculate how Belichick would approach recruiting. Brady laughed.

"He's not the warmest and fuzziest of all-time," Brady said, then launched into a story about the warmest and fuzziest side he saw from his former coach.

“He was out on Bourbon Street after we beat the Rams in 2001,” Brady remembered. “We got in the limo after the game the next morning to go to the press conference. And he goes, ‘You know what, Tom? You had a pretty good season.'

“That was about as warm and fuzzy as it got with coach Belichick.”

Brady's anecdote serves as a reminder that behind the facade of Bill Belichick's jejune public statements lies a man full of jejune private statements as well.

It's more telling that Brady, who knew Belichick professionally as well as anyone, did not anticipate the coach's next career move. Belichick lined up a number of front-facing media gigs in 2024: a weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, another gig alongside Peyton Manning's show "The Breakdown" and on his ManningCast, another with SiriusXM, and weekly appearances on The CW's "Inside the NFL."

Perhaps the itch to coach proved stronger than even Belichick imagined.

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