Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have a unique and sometimes difficult relationship having worked together for 20 years - but the quarterback icon has appeared on a soccer podcast to offer an olive branch
11:46 ET, 22 Jun 2026
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Tom Brady spoke on his relationship with Bill Belichick
Tom Brady has explained how Bill Belichick's style of coaching elevated him and the New England Patriots to win their six Super Bowl's together in 20 years, despite saying he made every day 'uncomfortable'.
Brady and Belichick spent two decades together - but did not end their time together in the way they'd have liked, with the quarterback leaving with questions around how successful he could be if he stayed with the Patriots. He joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and won a Super Bowl in his first year with his new team.
Ever since, a long debate has raged on as to whether Belichick was only successful as a result of having Brady playing at quarterback, considering the head coach has struggled without him. He is now coaching in college football, having a 4-8 record in his first year at the University of North Carolina. It comes as Donald Trump is in full "panic mode" about one savage chant from World Cup fans.
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Speaking on UK-based soccer podcast The Overlap, Brady spoke highly of playing under Belichick while comparing him to legendary Manchester United head coach Sir Alex Ferguson.
He said: "High-performing environments are hard, because there’s a degree of being uncomfortable every day.
"When Sir Alex Ferguson showed up, you [the panel] were uncomfortable because he had a perfection about the way he expected you to perform.
"When Bill Belichick walked in the room, everyone sat up - they didn’t want to be called out for being s----- on the field. Most organisations want everyone happy and comfortable Monday through Saturday, and then on Sunday you get your --- kicked.
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Brady and Belichick spent 20 years on the same team
"Belichick made Monday through Saturday uncomfortable. Every day was hard - so that Sunday, everyone won."
Brady explained to soccer legends Gary Neville, Roy Keane and Ian Wright that Belichick's regular words of 'do your job' was something that he lived by every practice session - wanting the team to execute their individual roles in trusting the player next to them to do the same.
He said: "That was his mantra for 20 years - ‘do your job.’ No one else can do it for you. If this is your job, there’s no one else that has that job - you have it, you need to do it. Don’t worry about everyone else’s job.
"The standard was perfection. We settled for excellence, and excellence was good enough to win 75% of the time, not 50%. The difference between winning 75% and 50% of the time is an entirely different level of accountability, discipline, and work ethic."
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick
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Tom Brady and Bill Belichick(Image: Getty)
Brady left the Patriots in 2020 after a disagreement on his future, believing he couldn't continue to win with Belichick in New England. Belichick lasted just three more years before leaving the team, with the Patriots surprisingly making the Super Bowl two years later - losing to the Seattle Seahawks this year.
In his first year away from the Patriots, Brady won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers - cementing his legacy as the greatest quarterback of all-time.
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Belichick and Brady appeared to end their pseudo-feud when the iconic head coach was in attendance at Brady's roast on Netflix - even popping up to tell some jokes of his own.
He is now a color commentator with FOX Sports, while being a co-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders and English football league side Birmingham City.