Bill Belichick responds to Tom Brady leaving the Patriots

Tom Brady’s tenure with the New England Patriots officially came to an end on Tuesday as he announced his decision to play elsewhere.

A significant part of his connection to the franchise saw him play under head coach Bill Belichick. In light of all that, Belichick voiced a great deal of appreciation for being able to coach Brady for the last two decades. (H/T Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk)

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“Nothing about the end of Tom’s Patriots career changes how unfathomably spectacular it was,” Belichick said. “With his relentless competitiveness and longevity, he earned everyone’s adoration and will be celebrated forever. It has been a privilege to coach Tom Brady for 20 years. Examples of Tom’s greatness are limitless, going back even before he was drafted. We witnessed how he prepared when he wasn’t playing, how he performed when he got his opportunity, what he did to continuously improve, his leadership, his mindset, the example he set, and, of course, the person he is. I am extremely grateful for what he did for our team and for me personally. Sometimes in life, it takes some time to pass before truly appreciating something or someone but that has not been the case with Tom. He is a special person and the greatest quarterback of all-time.”

The two had a tremendous amount of success working with each other that saw them earn six Super Bowl titles. They have helped guide the franchise to the most successful stretch that any team has experienced in league history.

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However, there were underlying questions about their relationship. It didn’t look like it was a strong one outside of the game. In other words, it had the appearance of being strictly business that didn’t go beyond that.

That may have been the case, but there was a great amount of respect between the two given what they accomplished over the last two decades. Their legacies will forever be intertwined in their future first-ballot Hall of Fame careers.