Think Bill Belichick heard what Tom Brady Sr. said last week?
In the words of the father of the GOAT: "Damn rights. Damn rights."
In case you missed it, Brady Sr. accused Belichick of wanting his son "out the door" in New England. Really, that notion -- that Belichick wanted to move on from Brady -- has been the narrative ever since the seven-time Super Bowl champion joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Maybe that is what really happened. Perhaps Brady's mounting frustration with the Patriots organization easily would have subsided had Belichick genuinely wanted him back in Foxboro.
Either way, Belichick passed the buck to Brady on Monday during his weekly "The Greg Hill Show" interview.
"Bill, over the course of you and Tom's time together, you said dozens of times that there was no quarterback you would rather have. When did that change?" Chris Curtis asked.
"It never changed," Belichick responded.
Curtis then delivered this follow-up: "So, you wanted time to re-sign here after the 2019 season."
" ... There were a lot of things there," Belichick replied. "He looked at his options and made a decision. We weren't as good of an option as Tampa. So, I mean, you'd have to ask him about all that. But that really wasn't a question about not wanting him -- that's for sure."
So begins the back-and-forth that everyone expected, but nobody wanted.
Of course, Belichick and the Patriots will host Brady and the Buccaneers on Sunday night. New England is 1-2 following its disappointing Week 3 loss to the New Orleans Saints, while the Bucs are 2-1 after losing Sunday afternoon to the Los Angeles Rams.
