There’s been speculation on Tom Brady’s reasons for leaving the New England Patriots — and, most of it trickles down to Bill Belichick.
According to ESPN’s Seth Wickersham’s new book “It’s Better To Be Feared,” there’s some truth to that. Wickersham originally exposed the power struggles in his bombshell column, and those issues came to fruition in Brady’s final years as a Patriot.
Here’s what reportedly led to Brady’s departure.
“Wickersham writes that Brady ultimately left New England not only because both (Bill) Belichick and (Robert) Kraft refused to commit to him until his stated goal of playing until age 45 — it was believed that Belichick thought Brady was close to the end — but because he wanted to be at an organization that welcomed his input rather than ignored it, something he ultimately found in Tampa Bay,” ESPN wrote in a column on Wednesday.
“Tom Brady had been curious if there was another way of winning, and while nobody was arguing that Bruce Arians was a better coach than Bill Belichick, or even close, the seamlessness of Brady’s proficiency and performance was making his former coach’s methodologies look antiquated, even silly. It was better to be feared — but was it necessary?” Wickersham added.
Ahead of the NFC title game last season, Arians hinted at this while speaking with Peter King of NBC Sports.
“I allow him to be himself,” Arians said. “Like, New England didn’t allow him to coach. I allow him to coach. I just sit back sometimes and watch.”
That freedom, along with the ability to pick up playmakers on both sides of the ball allowed Brady to find his rhythm and ultimately win a Super Bowl at the age of 43. It was a freedom that Belichick didn’t grant Brady — leading to potentially two decades of frustration.
With the Patriots and Buccaneers’ Week 4 matchup ahead, it’s very unlikely to hear any feedback to these reports by the quarterback or head coach.
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