Patriots coach Bill Belichick grunted and huffed through his media session this week at the owners meetings, but in a conversation with another legendary coach, he opened up quite a bit.
Via the Boston Globe, Belichick opened up during an appearance on Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s Sirius XM show, speaking at length about the dynamic between himself and quarterback Tom Brady.
While that relationship has been described as strained (and some level of tension is to be expected in any pair of high-achievers), Belichick told Krzyzewski that he enjoyed their twice-weekly meetings to go over game plans and special situations.
“In [basketball], it’s great because everybody plays offense, everybody plays defense,” Belichick said. “But in our sport, there’s a division between offense, defense, special teams, and a lot of times it’s hard to pull all those together. But, as a head coach, it’s important to be able to manage those critical situations with your quarterback, your offensive coordinator, your special teams coach, and your defense all together.
“I think Tom and I have spent a lot of time building that philosophy, understanding what we’re each thinking in certain situations, so when they come up, he can anticipate what I want to do [and] I can anticipate what he’d like to do. We try to get the best thing. I’d say we both work at it.”
Belichick praised Brady’s work during the week, saying he “prepares at a level like no other player that [he’s] coached.”
“There’s some things that he sees that I just don’t see, and I think the reverse is true,” Belichick said. “I love football. I love learning about football. I think Tom is the same. I think we’ve learned from each other, and we’ve been able to grow together. I think it’s a thriving relationship that never gets old.”
The success they’ve shared certainly helps smooth over some of the bumps, and it’s clear that there’s a mutual respect between the two, even if the relationship wasn’t always an easy one.