I still believe that Bill Belichick is the greatest NFL coach in history. But the results of this season make it clear that Tom Brady was not successful because of his coach in New England:
Sean Murphy-Bunting is 23 years old, and just 21 months ago he was a second-round pick out of Central Michigan. He spent his rookie year as a reserve corner on Bruce Arians’s first Buccaneers team, a group that hung around a while, but was kept out of the playoffs by consecutive losses to end the season.
In short, he really didn’t know what was coming when Tom Brady became a teammate.
Now, he knows.
“Tom’s not only a superstar, he’s a champion,” Murphy-Bunting said. “So he brings that mentality, that mindset each and every day to work. He’s a true vet and a true professional. And he just brings the excitement and energy out of his guys. He shows up to meetings early, he sits in the front every meeting, he always has his notepad, whether it’s a five-minute team meeting or a 30-minute team meeting.
“His habits are just so good that they rub off on everybody else. It makes everyone want to buy into what he’s doing and how he’s doing it, because of how successful he’s been by doing these things.”
You can’t choose to have more talent than the next guy, but you can always choose to work harder than him. Tom Brady has nothing to prove. He has SIX Super Bowl rings. He is the Greatest Of All Time. But one reason why he is the greatest is because he continues to push himself every day, in every meeting, every practice, and every game.