Tom Brady's emotions typically come off as scripted and contrived during his appearances on the "Let's Go!" podcast, which is co-hosted by the equally disingenuous Jim Gray.
But Monday night's episode felt like the real deal.
Brady and Gray welcomed surprise guest Bill Belichick as a part of a special retirement episode of the podcast. The New England Patriots head coach began his appearance by honoring Brady's remarkable NFL career, with his words causing the 45-year-old quarterback to get emotional.
"The greatest player. The greatest career. The great, great person," Belichick said. "It was such an opportunity and an honor for me to coach Tom. I guess it's got to end at some point. It's the greatest one ever. Congratulations, Tom."
Brady, fighting back tears, said "appreciate it" before Gray asked what Belichick did to bring out the best in him.
"I think it's more what did he not do to bring out the best in me," a choked-up Brady said. "... I was just very lucky. I think part of it, I came into my career and got drafted by the Patriots. I always joke, you know, I had no f---ing idea where New England was when I got drafted. I mean, I flew into Providence (R.I.), which really confuses you when you're coming from the West Coast. 'Cause I'm like, 'Boston, now Providence.'
"And, you know, it was Coach Belichick's first year there. And we came in together. I always think for so many young players, who's going to be there? Anybody can get drafted to a place. Who's gonna turn you into something? Who's gonna develop you? Who's gonna take you under their wing? And sometimes it's a player that does it, and I definitely had a lot of players do that. And, obviously, I had someone that really saw something in me that not a lot of other people did."
Listen to the full exchange in the two Twitter videos below:
The episode wound up featuring a slew of moments that should entertain Patriots fans.
Belichick shared both his inspiration for ripping Brady during team meetings and fascinating insight into what made the legendary quarterback uniquely great. Brady also offered a strong take on the ongoing Brady-Belichick debate.
Could this be yet another sign that Brady is willing to return to New England for a retirement celebration, perhaps in the form of a one-day contract? Perhaps, but people close to the 45-year-old still doubt he'd sign on for such pomp and circumstance with the team that let him leave town three years ago.
