Tom Brady Sr. said Bill Belichick is still an elite coach but has ‘horrible’ interpersonal skills
"Bill is a great, great, great coach. But his interpersonal skills are horrible. That’s the bottom line."
Although the Patriots went 4-13 in Bill Belichick’s final season, Tom Brady’s father told The Boston Globe’s Chris Gasper that he believes the 71-year-old is still an elite coach.
“I don’t think it’s fair what I’ve seen everybody saying that it’s all Tom,” Tom Brady Sr said. “Bill is the best coach in football, bar none. The last three or four years of his tenure in New England have been in the dumper. It’s too bad.”
The Patriots have had a losing record in three of the past four seasons under Belichick, whom New England parted ways with earlier this month. Since then, teams have reportedly been reluctant to seriously consider Belichick for head coaching vacancies.
It’s not Belichick’s coaching skills that has teams hesitant, more than one insider has said. It’s the other factors that would come into play with a potential Belichick hire.
His age, recent track record of personnel decisions, and questions about how much power an ownership group would have to hand over are among the reasons why Belichick is still available on the job market, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
“Bill is tough,” Brady Sr. said. “He runs a military system. It’s a different generation. Bill is a great, great, great coach. But his interpersonal skills are horrible. That’s the bottom line. How many times has he said — back in ‘15 or ‘16 — that he wanted to win without Tommy? When he went without Tommy, he didn’t know what he was losing. You’re losing more than just a quarterback.”
The Commanders are the only team left with a head coaching vacancy after the Seahawks reportedly hired Baltimore defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.
There’s a chance that Belichick might not get a job during this hiring cycle, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
“Ego sometimes gets in the way of things,” Brady Sr. said. “I think it did with Bill. Now, he’s in a situation where he’s gotten crucified for the last few years by everybody and a lot of luster has come off his rose.”
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