By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) – There are many different ways to successfully lead a football team. Bill Belichick’s subtle stoicism obviously works. Pete Carroll’s unadulterated exuberance also works. There is no right way to train.
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So if someone were to say that Bruce Arians has a very different coaching style from Belichick, it would not necessarily be the endorsement of one and the repudiation of the other. It simply states a fact.
And while Tom Brady would go Never saying a controversial word publicly about Belichick, and although Belichick likewise would never publicly say a bad word about Brady … well, Aryans don’t seem to have a problem causing a little problem.
“I think in person he is making a statement,” Arians told Sports Illustrated. “You know? Not everything was Coach Belichick.”
Oh. This is a spicy taco.
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It is also the second semi-barb that Arians does in Belichick, as the Bucs coach said after the divisional round win in New Orleans that he allows Brady “to be himself. Like, New England didn’t allow him to train. I allow him to train. I just sit sometimes and watch.
The most recent comment came in the middle of a larger article, which also included how the Aryans listened to Brady’s suggestions during the Bucs’ Week 13 goodbye and fully handed over the reins of the attack to the defender. According to the Aryans, the coach wanted the QB to feel as comfortable as possible while the Bucs tried to beat the rest of their schedule, and he even said to Brady, “if you don’t like it [something], we are throwing it away. “
Although Brady always looks back on his 20 years with Belichick, handing over the keys to crime in Tampa – from recruiting Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Brown and Leonard Fournette, to becoming the de facto assistant offensive coordinator in the middle of the season – it is the kind of guide that Brady obviously never would have been returned to Foxboro.
Bill Belichick hands Tom Brady the Lamar Hunt Trophy. (Photo by Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
This does not mean that one way was right and the other was wrong. The six Lombardis parked next to Gillette Stadium are a strong argument that the Patriots conducted their operations very well for a long time, after all.
However, it is impossible not to notice the big difference in almost everything around Brady in Tampa compared to his previous life in New England. While the quarterback’s focus was certainly more on winning than proving that his former boss was wrong, it would be naive to think that Belichick’s refusal to commit to Brady after the age of 40 did not fall on very long list of complaints (real, imaginary and others).
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In that sense, the Arians’ claim that Brady was preparing to prove he could win without Belichick has a touch of truth. Just don’t expect Brady to say that out loud.