New England Patriots
“I used to think, ‘I am gonna kill this guy. Does he know how many Super Bowls I have won?’”
Former Patriots QB Tom Brady landed a jab about Bill Belichick’s icy demeanor as a coach during Sunday’s FOX broadcast between the Bears and Cowboys.
During the third quarter, sideline reporter Tom Rinaldi discussed the relationship between Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and coach Ben Johnson — with Johnson reportedly not holding back in his criticism of Williams during team meetings in order to establish that the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft was not above the rest of the team.
“He’s tough on me, and he is tough on me in front of everyone else on the team. The point? To prove he is no bigger than anyone else. I will be a better quarterback under Ben, Williams told us,” Rinaldi said. “Because of that detail and how demanding he is. As for whether there is any aftermath, ‘We meet after every practice. We go over things, we’re close. But it can get a little spicy.”
Rinaldi then drew the correlation between Williams and Johnson and Belichick and Brady, as the latter served as the color commentator of that Chicago/Dallas game alongside Kevin Burkhardt.
“What do you mean? I had such a player-friendly coach,” Brady joked.
Brady — who won six Super Bowls with Belichick but acknowledged that his working relationship with the longtime Patriots coach eventually eroded — elaborated on the dynamic he had with Belichick over the years.
“Coach Belichick, he always told me how great I did. You know, there was a high demand of excellence, I’ll say that,” Brady said. “And believe me, when you are a pro quarterback, you would much rather your coach be hard than easy. Sometimes the growing pains is, ‘Sometimes I have to get these guys out of their comfort zone.’ From a coaching standpoint, to help them grow and understand the magnitude and the trust that the organization has given you.”
“I think a big part of a head coach that is very in your face and very technical is it does show the team that if I can pick on Caleb (Williams), or I can pick on Tom Brady, or Peyton Manning … if they can pick on me, they can pick on anybody,” he added.
Burkhardt asked if Brady’s acceptance of Belichick’s criticism in his post-playing days was present during his days as New England’s QB.
“Of course not,” Brady replied. “I used to think, ‘I am gonna kill this guy. Does he know how many Super Bowls I have won?’ I mean, what are you talking about? And then you break the meeting and see all your teammates coming over to your locker and hug you going, ‘Are you okay bro?’ You just get used to it, and that’s how everyone gets coached.”
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