Bill Belichick Acknowledges Tom Brady, But Isn't Eager To Detail QB's Departure
BOSTON (CBS) -- Shortly after Tom Brady announced that he'd be leaving the Patriots, head coach Bill Belichick released a heartfelt and sincere message about Brady's place in history. Now almost a month later, Belichick is happy to let that statement serve as his final words on the end of Brady's 20-year career in New England.
"At the start of free agency I made a statement about Tom. It would be, of course, impossible to sum up everything Tom did in 20 years into a comment -- then or now. But I meant everything I said about him, and I'm sure we'll be talking about him for years and decades to come," Belichick said Monday on a pre-draft conference call with reporters. "But right now, we're moving forward and focused on the draft here for this call. And that's really where our attention's been and will continue to be, to put the best team that we can in 2020 and do all that we can from now until the start of the season."
With this being Belichick's first availability to the media since Brady left, the coach naturally got some questions about the QB. Specifically, Belichick was asked directly if the Patriots had a desire to bring Brady back in 2020. Belichick did not want to answer.
"Yeah I think that's, you know, water under the bridge," Belichick said. "Like I said, we're really focused on this season and trying to look at our opportunities and make decisions and playing and prepare to be as competitive as we can be this year. So that's really where our focus has been."
In a follow-up question, Belichick was asked if he was surprised by Brady's decision to leave.
"Again, I think we've covered all that," Belichick replied curtly.
So, the details of that departure will remain private for the time being. Last week during an interview with Howard Stern, Brady said of Belichick: "I think he has a lot of loyalty, and he and I have had a lot of conversations that nobody has ever been privy to, and nor should they be. So many wrong assumptions were made about our relationship or how he felt about me. I know genuinely how he feels about me. I'm not going to respond to every rumor or assumption made about me."
Of course, no matter the exact reasons, Brady leaving the Patriots remains a massive story in sports history. Yet the two key people involved with the dissolution of that partnership seem content to keep private most of the reasons for that split.
