When asked about his favorite moments with Tom Brady during their remarkable tenure in New England, Bill Belichick responded in classic Belichick fashion. The duo, widely regarded as the greatest head coach-quarterback pairing in NFL history, achieved unparalleled success, securing nine AFC Championships and clinching six Super Bowl victories during their two-decade partnership from 2000 to 2019.
As Brady prepared to be honored before the Patriots’ 2023 season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, Belichick appeared on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” and, in true Belichick style, provided a characteristically understated answer:
“Well, there are six of them that come to mind. Can’t say enough about Tom and what he’s meant to this organization, what he’s meant to me personally…
He just epitomized everything you would want in a player – his work ethic, his ability to handle and process a lot of things on and off the field. His critical playmaking ability, instinctiveness and anticipation, and decision-making at the most critical times in the biggest games in the team’s history, not to mention the seasons.
For so many years, he set a standard of daily performance which turned into yearly performance which turned into not only a Hall of Fame career, but probably the best career of all time in the National Football League.”
Belichick’s reference to “six of them” cleverly alludes to the six Lombardi Trophies they won together. New England secured three Super Bowl victories in a four-year span (2001, 2003, and ’04 seasons), followed by another dynasty with three additional titles in 2014, 2016, and 2018.
Brady’s journey began as a sixth-round draft pick (199th overall) by the Patriots in 2000. His opportunity to step in as New England’s starting quarterback arose early in the 2001 season following an injury to Drew Bledsoe, stemming from a hit by Mo Lewis. The rest, as they say, is history.
After two decades with the Patriots, Brady made the monumental decision to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In his inaugural season with the Buccaneers, he led them to victory in Super Bowl 55 and continued to guide the team to consecutive NFC South division titles in 2021 and 2022 before ultimately retiring from professional football.
