Patriots coach Bill Belichick is pushing back against the perception that an issue with Tom Brady’s personal trainer Alex Guerrero has led to problems between the coach and the quarterback.
Belichick said ESPN’s report of strain between himself, Brady, Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Guerrero is false.
“I have a great relationship with both Robert and Tom, and I would throw in there, since it was part of the article, I feel like I have a good relationship with Alex, too,” Belichick said on WEEI.
Reports surfaced several weeks ago that Belichick had been restricting Guerrero’s access to the team and that Belichick thought Guerrero had undermined the team’s strength and conditioning staff. Belichick hasn’t denied that, but he said he doesn’t have a problem with Guerrero.
“I think we’re talking about a lot of inaccuracies here,” Belichick said. “I respect Alex and I think I have a good professional relationship with him. I can’t speak for him, but I think he would say the same thing.”
Brady is still playing at a high level at age 40 and credits Guerrero for much of his success, so it would be hard to dismiss Guerrero out of hand. But Guerrero also has some unorthodox practices, and it’s legitimate for Belichick not to want his influence to extend to the entire Patriots team. So it makes sense for Belichick to keep Guerrero at arm’s length, even if he respects the work Guerrero has done with Brady.