Tom Brady Discusses Why He, Bill Belichick Couldn’t Continue Together After 2019 Season

A new documentary promises to shed light on the Patriots' rise and fall.
Tom Brady Discusses Why He, Bill Belichick Couldn’t Continue Together After 2019 Season
Tom Brady Discusses Why He, Bill Belichick Couldn’t Continue Together After 2019 Season /

In the spring of 2020, football's greatest player voluntarily walked away from its greatest dynasty and coach. 

The divorce between then-New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick spurred rampant public speculation, a Super Bowl run for Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a best-selling book, and now, a docuseries.

The Dynasty will premiere Friday on Apple TV+, and early returns on the show offer searing insight into how completely Brady and Belichick's relationship had deteriorated by the late 2010s.

“Me and coach Belichick, we did what we loved and competed for 20 years together,” Brady said, quoted in a review by Chad Graff of The Athletic. “But I wasn’t going to sign another contract (with the Patriots) even if I wanted to play until (I was) 50. Based on how things had gone, I wasn’t going to sign up for more of it.”

Graff wrote that Belichick's coaching style was depicted as "dictatorial" in the show, with longtime wide receiver Wes Welker "(comparing) Brady to an abused dog for continually going back to work for Belichick."

Belichick parted ways with New England on Jan. 11 following a 29-39 record over four years without Brady between the regular season and playoffs.


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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .