Tom Brady pens emotional message to former Patriots coach Bill Belichick
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick were peanut butter and jelly for the longest time.
The pair won six Lombardi trophies with the New England Patriots and were the pillars of arguably the greatest dynasty the NFL has ever seen.
Brady then went on to do it again with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the final act of his career while Belichick tried and largely failed to put the pieces back together in New England without his star quarterback.
After struggling to losing season three out of the past four years, (including two straight), Patriots owner Robert Kraft decided on Thursday that it was time for Belichick's legendary run in New England to come to an end with a mutual parting of the ways.
It's a mostly bitter ending for Belichick, who apparently still wants to coach, but it did come with a sweet message on Instagram from his former quarterback.
"I’m incredibly grateful to have played for the best coach in the history of the NFL. He was a great leader for the organization, and for all of the players who played for him," Brady wrote. "We accomplished some amazing things over a long period of time, many of which will be hard to replicate. He worked every day to help us achieve the ultimate goal, in the ultimate team sport."
"And, although we were successful, some of the greatest lessons, I learned, were in the moments where we faced the most challenging adversities," the former quarterback continued. "He set the tone for the organization, to never falter in the face of adversity, and to do what we could do, and what was in our control, which was to go out and do our job. I could never have been the player I was without you Coach Belichick. I am forever grateful. And I wish you the best of luck in whatever you choose next."
There are some who have suggested that New England's success in the Belichick era was largely because of Brady, but here it seems that the quarterback himself would disagree.
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