Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have built the NFL’s modern-day dynasty across two decades together, mixing a discipline-based coaching culture with record-breaking quarterback play. NFL author Gary Myers now sheds light on just how spartan Belichick’s culture was behind closed doors and how it exactly shaped his relationship with Brady.

Gary Myers sharpens the edges on that portrait today. In his appearance on The Dan Patrick Show, Myers disclosed a fundamental philosophy that ruled Belichick’s locker room: the coach kept players at length emotionally. “I think that he’s capable of having it when the player is no longer playing for him and retires because he has a really good relationship with guys like Carl Banks and Lawrence Taylor and Phil Simms,” Myers said.

“It wasn’t that now he was never coached Sims directly, but he doesn’t allow himself to get close to players because he knows, for the most part, unless a guy retires on his own, it’s going to end poorly. So he doesn’t want to develop that real close personal relationship. Now I think his relationship with Brady is better today than it ever has been, even during his playing career or the five years or so that they were separated. But I think today they’ve come to appreciate what they meant to each other.” So, that distance was not an accident; it was a management tactic to keep his locker room razor-sharp and disciplined and free of emotion.

Even the team’s face, Tom Brady, would “never” sit down to reflect on their past together, beyond football. Belichick only loosens up with players after they’ve retired, just like with Carl Banks, Lawrence Taylor, and Phil Simms. Myers argued this approach was the reason for the Patriots’ success. The first half of New England’s dynasty, for him, was “really Belichick.”

Be it micromanaging, defense-based philosophy, or diligent policing of the game’s details, Belichick was the major key for a disciplined & winning team. Myers also pointed to Super Bowl XXXVI, where Belichick’s plan shut down the heavily favored Rams, and later wins over the Panthers and Eagles that relied on smart clock management and tough defense. Myers said this approach created a culture where no player was above the rules, and even Brady didn’t get special treatment.

By retaining that tough edge, Belichick built a dynasty on discipline rather than emotion. His insistence on precision and a locker room in which players were interchangeable was a part of a larger plan, and success was the only currency. Myers credits this as the hallmark of the early success of New England: Belichick’s ability to separate emotion from execution. Even after Brady departed in 2020, Belichick’s reputation as a trendsetter has endured.

What was the relationship reality between Tom Brady and Bill Belichick?

On the Dan Patrick show, Myers emphasized that it’s Tom’s father who is more expressive of Brady’s time in the Patriots. He said, ”I think Tom’s father is much more outspoken than Tom is himself about what the relationship is and how he felt, his son was disrespected all those years in New England by Belichick.” Those remarks are consistent with what Tom Brady Sr. has made in the public record over the years. Although Brady Sr. has expressed affection for Belichick’s football mind, he’s been blunt about the interpersonal tension that helped to drive his son out of New England.

He’s called Belichick’s interpersonal skills “horrible” and pointed to ego as a factor: ”How many times has he said — back in ‘15 or ‘16 — that he wanted to win without Tommy?” Brady Sr. questioned. “When he went without Tommy, he didn’t know what he was losing. You’re losing more than just a quarterback. Ego sometimes gets in the way of things. I think it did with Bill.” 

Myers’ latest book, Brady vs. Belichick: The Dynasty Debate, delves into how their relationship has developed more intensely. In it, Belichick admits that Brady “made the right call” to leave New England, referring to the quarterback’s 2020 exit. However, Myers feels that their chemistry is better now than it ever has been, and both have a growing respect for each other’s contributions.

The transition worked: Tom Brady played 50 games for the Buccaneers, throwing for 14,643 yards with 108 touchdowns and 33 interceptions, and finishing with a 98.3 passer rating. In 2021, he had his seventh Super Bowl victory and first without New England. On the other hand, Belichick started remaking the Patriots, drafting and building a new era of players and solidifying his status as one of the most creative coaches in the league.

Their combined legacy is evident: a total of six Super Bowl wins, a transformation in the design of NFL franchises, and an enduring model of discipline and preparation. Myers’ demolition of Belichick’s strict regime provides additional context to that success, revealing how calculated space and standards contributed towards the creation of a dynasty that can never be matched.