Nostradamus, Bill Belichick was not — in this particular case.
The longtime Patriots head coach, who parted ways with the franchise this week, seemed to think Tom Brady's best days were behind him — before the legendary quarterback won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers. .
According to ESPN's long-running post-mortem During Belichick's time in New England, when the team won six Super Bowls and nine AFC titles, the head coach apparently felt that Brady's on-field play had declined since the early 2010s.
In 2014, Belichick provided Patriots owner Robert Kraft with research evidence showing how he saw his play decline as quarterbacks hit their mid-30s. did.
Brady, who had friction with Belichick over his training program, ended up winning three more Super Bowls with the Patriots.
However, after losing in the wild-card round of the 2019-20 season, Brady entered his highly publicized free agency period and subsequently joined the Buccaneers.
From there, the 43-year-old threw 40 touchdowns in the regular season and led Tampa Bay to its seventh Super Bowl.
What we know about the Patriots and Bill Belichick's split
The Patriots and Bill Belichick will reportedly part ways on Thursday after 24 years and six Super Bowl championships.
Rumors about Belichick's future have been circulating all season, as the Patriots finished 4-13 and missed the playoffs for the third time in four seasons. Belichick met with Patriots owner Robert Kraft over the past few days and subsequently reached a mutual decision.
Belichick has a career record of 266-121 with the Patriots, including 31 wins in the playoffs.
The 71-year-old has no plans to retire and needs just 15 more wins to match Don Shula's all-time regular season and playoff wins record by a head coach in NFL history.
Patriots linebackers coach Jerrod Mayo, who had been seen as his successor, took over the job and became New England's next head coach.
“Bill said he couldn't play anymore,” Kraft said after Brady won the title, according to ESPN. “And he goes out there and wins the Super Bowl.”
Brady played two more years, throwing 68 more touchdowns, and retired for good after his age 45 season.
New England has only had one winning season since Brady left, but things aren't going so well.
This year, there was more friction at quarterback as Mac Jones struggled, and the team lost to the Jets in the final game of the season, Belichick's last with the club, and the team finished with a record of 4 wins and 13 losses.
Now, Jerod Mayo takes over the team with a lot of question marks.
