Tom Brady clears the air on Bill Belichick: 'We always had a great relationship'

Bill Belichick made a seemingly out-of-character remark earlier this week when he proposed that the Super Bowl trophy, currently called the Lombardi Trophy, be renamed the Tom Brady Trophy.

Colin Cowherd was one of those who was a bit thrown off by Belichick’s suggestion, noting the coach’s history of putting the team above individual accomplishments. He also recalled an old clip of Belichick looking a bit uncomfortable when rewarding Brady a game ball in the past, as there had been reports of friction between the two in their final years together with the New England Patriots.

In an recent appearance on “The Herd,” Brady denied that there was ever bad blood between the two when he was asked if any heated feelings might have cooled off now that they aren’t chasing championships together.

“We always had a great relationship,” Brady said. “We still do. I know there was a lot of things later in my career that people would say to try and create division. There’s always a great respect for each other. I always saw him as someone that I was trying to please out there as my coach, and I wanna be the best that I can for the team and he was always trying to deliver for our team in the role that he was in.

“Were there times where we didn’t see everything eye-to-eye? Yeah, but that’s 20 years of a relationship.”

Tom Brady on renaming the Lombardi Trophy to the Brady Trophy

While Brady did acknowledge that their relationship might not have always been smooth sailing, he recognized that the coach he won six Super Bowls with helped him grow.

“I’m not characterizing our relationship based on a few moments that weren’t perfect for either of us,” Brady said. “We had as great of a relationship as you could have over a long period of time with a tremendous amount of success, and there’s no coach that I would rather play for than him. He taught me so much.”

Cowherd compared the role of a head coach to that of a parent, with the idea that they might discipline out of love and wanting to see those they’re teaching mature. Brady agreed with that sentiment in regards to Belichick.

[Related: Brady reveals the last-minute change that helped the Patriots beat the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX]

“If you’re not performing well and your grades are below standard, you’ve got to tell your kids that,” Brady said. “If they aren’t putting forth the effort, you’ve got to tell them that, too. You’ve got to teach them. You’ve got to develop them. You’ve got to be there. There’s a sophistication to being a parent, a good parent at that, expecting that a lot of these young kids today — they don’t know what the right way to do things are.

“And you know what, sometimes to have a little fear in people can be a good thing. People should have to wake up and go, ‘I’ve got to do a good job today or else.'”

Of course, with Brady having as much success as he did in New England, there were plenty of occasions when he was individually honored. He won four Super Bowl MVPs and three NFL MVPs. In fact, Belichick even called Brady the greatest of all time following his retirement.

But Brady cherished the team moments more than anything, crediting Belichick for building the culture that created one of the greatest dynasties in recent sports history and the bonds he formed from it.

“I think the culture I was a part of in New England embraced a team-first attitude,” Brady said. “What are the rewards of that? Well, championships were won. But more importantly than that, I have relationships with my teammates that go way far above and beyond what they ever were on the football field. I look at the best experiences I’ve had in my life and they’ve been with men and women … that contributed to my life, taught me in a very significant way that allowed me to be the best I could be.

“That’s what team sports are about. That’s what shared experiences are about. That’s what relationships are about. That’s what, ultimately, the meaning of life is about. We formed that bond under an intensity about what we were trying to do.”

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