Brady, Belichick, and Broadcasting

The New England Patriots are no longer the super power of the NFL, but the two chief components of their recent dynasty are now flourishing in the media world.
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are now media darlings. Who would have thunk it?

Most people figured Brady, the quarterback who engineered six Super Bowl championships in New England, and Belichick, the head coach for the two decades of Patriots dominance, would be the last two you would guess would wind up in the communications universe. But here they are.

Brady, the ultra-celebrity, would never be tied down to studying two teams and then traveling to the cities he visited before as a player, spending virtually half a year doing this. Talking about the game he played, starred, and became the best ever at his position, the most important on the field.

But he has, and he loves it.

Belichick, who appeared to have absolutely no personality or appeal to viewers after years of one-word answers to reporters questions, indicating disinterest, and boredom. Painful sessions for those who witnessed them week after week, season after season.

But now he’s a different person, and he loves it.

The fact is, that Tom Brady, underneath the star-studded figure that he is, is a decent, regular guy who has football in his blood.

He knows the game, and has never been reluctant to discuss it.

Forget about the money. Yes, he’s being paid a fortune by Fox, but he’s not appearing on air every Sunday just for the paycheck.

He certainly doesn’t need to put the enormous time he puts in to get a paycheck that’s as huge as it is.

Brady had mixed reviews after his first game, maybe most of them were negative. What did anyone expect after only one shot?

I understand how viewers have no idea what it takes to be successful on television. The more you do the better you get. But if you dedicate your time to preparation, to offering insights on your experience, and who can do that better than Brady?

Then, there is his remarkable intelligence. It is off the charts. Combine all of that with the exact same drive he had to be a supreme winner as a quarterback, it is no one’s surprise he has made an enormous jump in a mere few weeks. If viewers listen to what he says, they will hear comments never heard from anyone before, and opinions, and humor that we all felt would set him apart.

The sky’s the limit for Tom Brady.  Sure, there will always be detractors.

But face it, there are many out there who resent success. Too bad for them.

Now Bill Belichick is following the same trail as his QB.

He had talked with the Atlanta Falcons during the off-season to perhaps become their head coach. It didn’t happen. The natural reaction was that he was rejected by owner Arthur Blank. That may have been so.

But it’s also a possibility that Belichick didn’t subscribe to everything the Falcons presented. No one knows for sure. Speculation is meaningless.

So the coach has jumped into television and radio with both feet.

He appears on the ManningCast on Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli.  He hosts The Breakdown with the two former quarterbacks.

He appears on YouTube with a show called, Underdog Fantasy.

You’ll also see him on Inside the NFL and once a week on the Pat McAfee show. On radio, he’s involved in a talk show, Let’s Go, on SiriusXM.

How did this all happen after gaining a reputation as a nothing more than a dull head coach who says nothing.

Of course, those who don’t know the man knew it was all by design.

Bill Belichick simply refused to divulge ANYTHING to the media covering his team. He never offered any information on player injuries, game decisions, or upcoming plans.

I never missed watching a Bill Belichick news conference. It was hilarious the way he avoided every question.

Of course, the reporters had a job to do. They will tell you it was to inform the fans, to help them understand what the Patriots were doing and why.

Naturally, they would dwell on the sensational if they could, but Belichick wasn’t having any of it.

He would tell them nothing. Why give out information on his team?

Would it be in their best interests?  We know the answer is no.

But behind the scenes, as many who knew the man for years, dating back to his time with the New York Giants, Belichick had not only a humorous personality, but a knowledge of the game that exceeded most other coaches. He was always a historian, relishing the traditions of the teams, the players, and the coaches. He was on top of the evolution of football.

There were indications of all of this, that observers never picked up.

Back in 2006, Belichick was a guest on ABC’s Super Bowl pre-game show, prior to the clash between the Steelers and the Seahawks.

On that program, he successfully forecast several of the traits of both teams. He went deeper than the stuff you ordinarily hear.

That wasn’t all.

Fourteen years later, on a program dealing with the NFL’s 100th Anniversary, the coach offered savvy insight into teams and specific players that was unmatched.

He wasn’t dull, and he wasn’t boring.

By being involved in all these football shows, Belichick easily is keeping up on every team. After the Falcons job didn’t pan out, he’s getting ready to get back into the game next season or maybe sooner.

Only four games have been played, but already Bill Belichick’s name is being bandied about for teams who have come out of the gate struggling.

The Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and Jacksonville Jaguars are just four clubs who could be the next landing strip for the coach.

Outsiders are ready for teams to fire coaches sooner than later and make a move to grab the  certain future Hall of Famer.

But that’s not going to happen.

For one thing, four games is a mere blip on the screen for an NFL campaign.

Things can change and usually they do.

If they don’t there’s plenty of time.

Belichick himself, would likely reject joining a team with a current staff that he would probably jettison.

When teams make coaching changes during a season it usually doesn’t work out.

But when the dust clears, Belichick will have a good idea what could fit for him and teams would have similar thoughts.

No one has any clue, but I would think Belichick would aim for a team with an established quarterback or a young promising one who could win.

I don’t believe he needs to have the total control he had with the Patriots, but he would have to be on the same page as the top personnel in the front office, including, of course, the owner.

We have heard from many of his former players, including Brady, Julian Edelman, Ron Gronkowski and others, the extra dimension he brings to leading a team.

It’ll be fascinating to see how it all plays out.

But that’s in the future. Right now we’ve seen how the two keys to NFL’s greatest dynasty have tackled their post-career lives.

The quarterback, who has taken on a new profession with the same drive for success he had as a winner on the field. And the head coach, who has, surprisingly to many, taken on the same profession, with an identical drive to resume his career as the ultimate champion.

Who would have thunk it?

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Al McCoy passed away last week at the age of 91.

If you’re not from Arizona you’re probably saying, “who is Al McCoy?”

McCoy was the play-by-play announcer for the Phoenix Suns for 41 years before he retired at the end of the 2023 season.

Like most of the local team broadcasters, he had a remarkable following.

He reported, entertained, and was the link between his listeners in the Valley for their NBA team.

But he did it for four decades, reaching a couple of generations of Suns fans, and he did it with style.

I wrote a column for this newspaper upon his retirement, and knew him well while covering the league for CBS and Turner Sports.

I will miss him. But his countless fans will miss him more.