Patriots quarterback Tom Brady attributes his ability to throw the ball as well as ever at age 40 to his training habits, and has specifically credited trainer Alex Guerrero with helping him continue to improve at an age when most athletes are retired. But not everyone in New England is sold on Guerrero.
That’s the word from Adam Schefter of ESPN, who said on WEEI that he has heard on multiple occasions this season that Patriots coach Bill Belichick has some type of issue with Guerrero.
“I’ve heard whispers about that sort of thing, as well. There’s some sort of issue,” Schefter said. “I truly do not know the extent of it. I don’t know how long it has been brewing or the history of it. Clearly, there’s something there, but I don’t know what to make of it. . . . I just know that the Guerrero thing has been an issue at some point this season. It has come up. It is not the first time it has been brought to my attention.”
Schefter didn’t present this as a firm report of a problem in the locker room, but it’s an indication that Brady and Belichick, despite all their success together, may not be entirely on the same page.
Guerrero has reportedly stopped traveling with the team to road games, which he had done in the past. Belichick may want to distance the team from a trainer who’s not part of the team’s strength and conditioning staff, and that wouldn’t be particularly surprising. NFL coaches would almost always prefer that players take direction from the team’s training staff, rather than their own personal trainers, and even if Brady has had undeniable success with Guerrero, that doesn’t mean Belichick is buying in to the TB12 Method.