The debate over which legendary figure deserves the most credit for the Patriots’ dynasty—quarterback Tom Brady or coach Bill Belichick—has raged since the late years of that historic partnership.
While the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle, it’s difficult to deny that the last three-plus seasons have been very good for the Brady side of the argument. The quarterback won a seventh Super Bowl with the Buccaneers after leaving New England, while Belichick’s Patriots have been mired in mediocrity. In 2023, they’re off to a 1–4 start with back-to-back losses of at least 34 points to the Cowboys and Saints in the past two weeks.
New England might be downright bad for the first time in decades, and it has led ESPN’s Shannon Sharpe to re-evaluate his stance in the Brady-Belichick debate.
Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports
On Monday’s episode of First Take, Sharpe said that although he doesn’t believe recent seasons have damaged Belichick’s legacy, he says he didn’t give Brady enough credit for his ability to serve as an “eraser” for the times that Belichick erred as coach and general manager.
“I think I owe Brady an apology, because I don’t think I gave him enough credit,” Sharpe said. “What Brady allowed Coach Belichick to do, Brady is the largest eraser in pro sports. Because every mistake that coach Belichick made during that two decades, Brady could erase it. You took a bad receiver … Brady could erase it with a Julian Edelman.”
"I think I owe [Tom] Brady an apology because I don't think I gave him enough credit. ... Brady is the largest eraser in pro sports because every mistake that coach Belichick made ... Brady could erase it."
— First Take (@FirstTake) October 9, 2023
—@ShannonSharpe pic.twitter.com/8xDkrOsubV
Belichick deserves plenty of credit for being a defensive mastermind during an era in which offenses began to dominate the league, but Sharpe says that having a legendary quarterback such as Brady covered up Belichick’s shortcomings.
“Coach Belichick did a great job of designing defensive teams—what he did against the ‘Greatest Show on Turf,’ all these great high-flying offenses. But at the end of the day, when you needed a quarterback to make a play, Brady always made that play,” Sharpe continued. “A regular coach can’t have this level of success for two decades, but what it does go to show you, no matter how great a defensive mind or offensive mind you are, if you don’t have a guy that’s 6’ 4” and 200-plus pounds with an arm, you’re whistling in the wind.”
