Bill Belichick spent a large portion of his appearance on Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski’s Sirus XM radio show discussing New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Reports of tension between coach and QB were prevalent in 2018, but Belichick said his relationship with Brady is “thriving” as the two enter their 20th season together.
“In (basketball), it’s great because everybody plays offense, everybody plays defense,” Belichick told Coach K in a pre-taped interview that aired Thursday afternoon, as transcribed by Boston.com. “But in our sport, there’s a division between offense, defense, special teams, and a lot of times it’s hard to pull all those together. But, as a head coach, it’s important to be able to manage those critical situations with your quarterback, your offensive coordinator, your special teams coach, and your defense all together.
“I think Tom and I have spent a lot of time building that philosophy, understanding what we’re each thinking in certain situations, so when they come up, he can anticipate what I want to do (and) I can anticipate what he’d like to do. We try to get the best thing. I’d say we both work at it.”
Belichick praised Brady’s work ethic, saying the 41-year-old “prepares at a level like no other player that (he’s) coached.”
“There’s some things that he sees that I just don’t see, and I think the reverse is true,” Belichick said. “I love football. I love learning about football. I think Tom is the same. I think we’ve learned from each other, and we’ve been able to grow together. I think it’s a thriving relationship that never gets old.”
