FOXBORO, Mass. — The supposed rift between New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Alex Guerrero has reached the point where Tom Brady’s personal trainer isn’t allowed to board team planes or stand on their sideline, according to The Boston Globe.
Belichick has declined to address the issue between him and Guerrero in the past. He was asked indirect questions about the report Wednesday in his weekly news conference. Here’s how he answered them:
Q: Do you still meet with the quarterbacks every week?
BB: I meet with all the players all the time.
Q: How would you describe your working relationship with Tom? Has anything changed this year?
BB: Well, every year is different.
The questions related to Guerrero were unusually worded, and Belichick took that as an opportunity to deflect them.
Q: Coach, would you say that Tom’s relationship with his trainer is like if your adult son or child is hanging out with somebody you didn’t really care for all that much? I mean, it’s your adult child. What are you supposed to say?
BB: I’m not really sure what — I mean, you’re talking about my children? I don’t think that’s appropriate here. I’m trying to coach a football team.
Q: I’m sorry I didn’t mean to make it personal, I was just thinking.
BB: I mean, really, what are we talking about here?
Q: I just meant is it something that kind of frustrates you because it takes the focus off of him taking coaching from you, in your opinion?
BB: Again, there’s a lot of pronouns there. I don’t really know who’s talking about what. Sorry.
It seems unlikely Belichick would have answered a question worded more clearly about Guerrero, since he’s declined to do so in the past.
The Belichick-Guerrero rift likely would be a much bigger story if the Patriots hadn’t sent backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers at the trade deadline. If Garoppolo still was on the Patriots, then we’d likely be speculating if the Patriots could trade Brady after the 2017 season.
