Tom Brady is one of, if not the greatest, players to play in the NFL. His name is iconic and one of the most recognizable in the history of the sport, not only for his talent but also for his ability to win consistently.
Much of that winning came when he was paired with head coach Bill Belichick, who is, in his own right, one of, if not the greatest, ever to do it at his own position. The two were pillars of the New England Patriots dynasty for nearly two decades.
Bill Belichick Shares What Made Tom Brady So Great
Belichick joined the “Pardon My Take” podcast from Barstool Sports to discuss all things football, including coaching for North Carolina, his time in the NFL, and what many people are most interested in: his star quarterback, Brady.
“If you spend time around Tom, you understand how totally committed he is,” Belichick said. “He was our fourth-string quarterback, you can’t name another fourth-string quarterback, I would say in any level of football.”
Brady was not highly regarded coming out of college, falling to the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft, where the Patriots selected him with the 199th overall pick. Things didn’t get easier for Brady once he made the NFL. He had to work hard and prove himself time and time again because the team didn’t have a ton invested in him.
Belichick discussed how unlikely it is for a fourth-string quarterback to be known, and how Brady defied the odds by continuing to prove the coaches and the doubters wrong. After only attempting three passes as a rookie, Brady finally got his shot in year two, when starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe suffered a serious chest injury, and the Michigan product made the most of it, with the team going on to win the Super Bowl that year.
“He didn’t lose games; he didn’t win many, but he didn’t lose them,” Belichick said of Brady as a young player. “And by 2003-2004, we won games because of Tom Brady. And from 2004 on, not only did we win games because of Tom Brady, but every week, he was the focal point of our opponents… That’s the real greatness, is when they’re doing something to stop you every single week, and there’s a target on your back, and you’re still producing at a high level.”
“He just day by day takes incredibly small steps that eventually lead to a high performance. He was our 4th string quarterback… I always say Tom wasn’t great, he wasn’t even really good, but he became great” -Bill Belichick on @PardonMyTake https://t.co/5JJN6uqXpB pic.twitter.com/JiHQ5HmwgY
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) May 18, 2026
“I always say Tom wasn’t great,” Belichick continued. “He wasn’t even really good, but he became great.”
Despite having the target of opposing coaches and teams on his back, Brady went on to become a seven-time Super Bowl Champion, five-time Super Bowl MVP, three-time NFL MVP, and 15-time Pro Bowler during his illustrious 23-year NFL career.
BE AN NFL GM: PFSN’s Ultimate GM Simulator
Brady’s 2007 season ranks as the No. 2 season, since 2000, by a quarterback in PFSN’s Quarterback Impact Metric (QBi). That year, Brady led the Patriots to one of the greatest regular seasons in NFL history, completing 68.9% of his passes for 4,806 yards en route to an undefeated 16-0 record.
Additionally, he broke the NFL single-season passing touchdown record, with 50, and led the NFL in passing yards per game with 300.4. While Peyton Manning has since broken his single-season passing touchdown record, Brady’s season remains one of the best campaigns ever played by a quarterback.
While Brady and Belichick went their separate ways at the end of their careers, and the quarterback won another Super Bowl without the head coach, it appears any potential ill will between them has dissipated over time, with the two speaking glowingly of one another on numerous occasions.
Belichick is now focused on his team at North Carolina. At the same time, Brady has his hands in multiple baskets, serving as the color analyst for FOX NFL broadcasts and as a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.
