Tom Brady probably deserves a good chunk of the credit for the Buccaneers not only halting their lengthy playoff drought, but reaching Super Bowl LV.
But is it possible Brady's former head coach played a part in Tampa Bay having its best season in nearly two decades?
The Brady vs. Bill Belichick debate has been recharged to an even greater extent via the Bucs winning the NFC Championship. Matt Hasselbeck took a unique approach to the argument Wednesday, suggesting Brady couldn't have helped lead the Bucs to the Super Bowl without Belichick's teachings.
“A lot of people, even on our show, the Sunday NFL Countdown pregame show that we’re going to do, that question will come up: was it more Brady or more Belichick?" Hasselbeck said on "The Greg Hill Show," as transcribed by WEEI. "I think it would be unfair to not give Bill Belichick credit for the year that even Tampa is having this year because I see Brady in Tampa doing things that he learned and perfected in his 21 years in New England. I equate it to this: if I went to Harvard and went to Harvard Business School and then went and had success in the business world, am I going to be like, that’s just me in the business world, that’s not Harvard? No, Harvard trained you to get ready to have success forever.
"… To think Brady deserves all the credit without Belichick or vice versa, I think they just go hand in hand. They should go in the Hall of Fame together in my mind. They’re a team."
Hasselbeck's take might hold some merit, but we can't imagine Brady will be thanking Belichick on Sunday night should Tampa Bay take down the Kansas City Chiefs.
