Bill Belichick strictly adheres to the philosophy that no player is above the team, and that remains the case even when the player is arguably the best quarterback in NFL history.
Former New England Patriots fullback Heath Evans recently shared on the “ Your Mom’s House” podcast how Belichick would belittle Brady to demonstrate there was not a separate set of rules or expectations for superstars.
“When you’re in New England, if you’re the superstar, you get coached harder than everyone else,” Evans said, as transcribed by the New York Post. “And if you’re the 53rd man on the roster or maybe the 35th guy on the roster like I was, then you’re going to be on this staggered scale of your level of accountability and how hard you get come down on because he knows, ultimately, me as the 35th man on the roster is going to follow Brady at No. 1 on the roster.
“So if Brady’s not challenged and he’s not working and he’s not held accountable then you create this level of inconsistency. And so that’s a gift in itself.”
Evans also spun a yarn about how Belichick called out Brady for an interception during a blowout victory, with Evans paraphrasing:
“If you weren’t so worried about you and Gisele’s next GQ Magazine, maybe, just maybe you wouldn’t have thrown that interception. What is this Christmas? It’s October, Brady. Christmas come early or something? I could go to Foxborough High and get someone to throw that ball better than you.”
There was some talk last season about a growing rift between Belichick and Brady amid some behind-the-scenes tension. The Patriots ignored the noise and won their sixth Super Bowl of the Brady-Belichick era. In other words, whatever buttons pushed by Belichick over the years certainly have paid huge dividends.
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