Tedy Bruschi knows all too well what Tom Brady is feeling.
The former New England Patriots linebacker played 13 seasons in New England, including nine seasons under head coach Bill Belichick.
Brady currently is playing in his 19th NFL season, all of which have been played under Belichick, and the quarterback reportedly would “divorce” his head coach if he could, according to a new book by ESPN’s Ian O’Connor.
The reported rift between Brady and Belichick stems from almost two decades of tough coaching, among other things, which has caused Brady to contemplate his playing future.
On Wednesday, Bruschi went on “SportsCenter” and discussed why he understands the frustration Brady is feeling, but the feeling eventually goes away.
“I felt that way sometimes about Bill when I was in there, sure,” Bruschi said. “He gets under your skin. It’s a highly pressurized situation. Just when you think you had a good game, you realize you didn’t. You know? So it’s constant pressure that’s always on top of you. Do you, sometimes, consider absolutely I’ve had enough? Walking out of that building, I had the same feeling.
“Like, ‘this guy is crazy. I’ve had enough. I can’t take this anymore.’ But then it subsides,” Bruschi continued. “It subsides in emotional times throughout the season. I mean, February, March, when you get up into your 10th-plus years, do you consider calling it quits, especially when you’re under a coach like this? Absolutely. So I can agree that, would Tom have those feelings? Sure. I had them too later in my career, but you have to deal with the pressure. But you end up coming back and the wins always help. But it’s a tough, pressurized situation in New England, we’ve all established that.
“If you’ve spent 18 years in this system, yes, you’re going to have those feelings at times. But once Tom went there for the mandatory minicamp, it was it, he had made his decision and all of this is behind him now.”
Belichick might be a little crazy, but he and Brady have combined to win five Super Bowl and appear in three others, so their marriage, as fractured as it might be, still is delivering results.
How long it will last, though, is anybody’s guess.
