Was Tom Brady Motivated By Bill Belichick Over Super Bowl Run? Bruce Arians Thinks So

Tom Brady’s comments throughout Super Bowl week suggested the star quarterback had no time for one of football’s most popular debates.

But if you ask Brady’s head coach, TB12 paid some mind to the argument.

The Buccaneers’ Super Bowl LV run prompted the football world to altercate the Brady vs. Bill Belichick debate ad nauseam. Brady, of course, is as self-motivated as they come, but Bruce Arians believes his signal-caller’s former coach added some fuel to Brady’s fire.

“Tom is playing for his teammates right now,” Arians told Sports Illustrated before his team won Sunday night at Raymond Jamed Stadium. “He wants those guys to experience what he’s experienced six times. I think personally, too, he’s making a statement. You know? It wasn’t all coach (Bill) Belichick.”

Most rational football fans and media members alike understand Brady and Belichick couldn’t have won six Super Bowls in New England without one another. And if you had to identify which future Hall of Famer was more responsible for the Patriots’ dynastic run, Belichick on multiple occasions has made it clear it’s the players who win games, not the coaches.

Sure, Brady might have felt he had something to prove, to an extent. But it’s tough to imagine sticking it to Belichick was a primary objective for the seven-time champ.