In January 2024, as Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick officially parted ways, the tired ‘Belichick is nothing without Brady’ refrain made its predictable rounds. More so, the surface-level stat to back that claim was an 85-102 career record without Tom Brady. But it ignores that the pair together authored nine Super Bowl appearances and six Lombardi Trophies, achievements impossible to replicate without both. Belichick’s defensive fingerprints were all over those championship runs. From Ty Law’s pick-six in Super Bowl XXXVI to Dont’a Hightower’s strip-sack in LI. But even 5 years since TB12 swapped shirts, that rhetoric is still there.

And lately, Brady’s been walking, talking, and sounding like a man who knows the answer. Brady didn’t just reminisce about leadership in the August 11 interview on The Joel Klatt Show. He redefined it. “In my mind,” he said recently, “take more ownership of what they’re doing in terms of the organizational level, doing more things to empower more people and to get more people on that train or that bus with you to head in the direction you want to go.” That’s not a subtle shot. That’s the quarterback telling you, flat out, that a team’s direction comes from under center, not behind the podium.

He doubled down, “The quarterback, in many ways, is the CEO of the team. There’s nobody that impacts the game more than the quarterback in NFL football.” That’s Tom Brady laying out his job description, and maybe rewriting Belichick’s. Remember, Brady left New England in 2020, landed in Tampa Bay, and within 10 months, hoisted a Lombardi without the Hooded Genius. Belichick? Four seasons since, zero playoff wins, one losing record, and a revolving door at quarterback. Numbers don’t lie: Brady was 5-2 with the Bucs in the playoff. Belichick was 0-1. And looking back, those numbers still say a lot!

This isn’t petty. It’s calculated. Brady knows every word lands differently when it comes from him. “Your word means so much,” he added, “and how you act every day matters to all three phases of the game.” Read between the lines, he’s talking about consistency, buy-in, culture. Traits Belichick’s Patriots haven’t shown without him.

The story here isn’t just that Brady stepped over Belichick. It’s that he’s now speaking from a higher platform, one built on rings, records, and receipts. He’s not just the greatest quarterback of all time. He’s the one guy who proved you can walk away from Bill Belichick and win bigger.

Tom Brady lauds Patrick Mahomes while challenging other 31 starters

It wasn’t a throwaway soundbite. It was a message, a pointed one, from a Patriots legend who’s seen the grind, the glory, and the graveyards of NFL careers. Tom Brady called out 31 quarterbacks without naming names, holding just one above the rest, Patrick Mahomes. The standard. The outlier. The guy who, as he put it, “does that the most often.” The “that” being the rare blend of physical brilliance, mental command, and relentless daily habits that don’t just win games, they drag an entire building toward a Lombardi.

Because Mahomes isn’t just slinging 300-yard games and making highlight reels. He’s understanding what needs to be done, offensively, situationally, emotionally. He’s walking into the building with a consistent, unshakable winning attitude. And when the clock’s bleeding in the fourth and it’s chaos everywhere else? That’s when you depend on #15 the most. That’s not hype, that’s a resume of 8 seasons, 5 Super Bowl trips, and 3 rings that make every other QB’s case look small.

But here’s the thing, Tom Brady didn’t say the rest were trash. No, he said they’ve all got the goods. Every single one can drop a dime, escape pressure, make you gasp. The problem? Flashes aren’t enough. “They need to prove it,” he said flatly. So, it’s the difference between can and does. The league is full of guys who can stun you with one throw on Sunday, then disappear into mediocrity by December. Mahomes is in the building every day doing the things that matter when nobody’s watching.

And maybe that’s the sting in this take. He’s not just talking about play execution, he’s talking about ownership. About quarterbacks who do “more things to empower more people and get more people on that train or that bus with you to head in the direction you want to go.” It was a message to stop waiting for someone else to fix it. Run your offense. Shape your locker room. Lead like it’s your last snap. Mahomes does. The other 31? Well, the Hall of Famer’s words suggest they’ve got homework. Big homework.