All Things Considered, Belichick's Greatest Achievement Might Be Getting Along with Brady for 20 Years

Let's call this decision by Bruce Arians to move to the Buccaneers front office what it was. However you want to phrase it. Impeachment. A coup d'etat. Regicide. Tom Brady taking care of all the family business. Or as I described it before it even happened, with air quotes:

The only way any of this adds up is that Arians either is totally cucked this year, he "decides" to "retire" himself in order save face, or he gets outright fired at Brady's request.

However you choose to express it, Brady is still with the Bucs while Arians has been reduced to kicking around the front office with no discernible job title, mumbling to himself about his Swingline:

… because there was a power struggle. A total mismatch where Arians had to punch way above his weight and simply had no chance. If you need any further proof, consider that that well-crafted and expansive tribute was up on Brady's Insta within minutes of the [more air quotes], "surprise" announcement. 

Simply put, Brady was sick of Arians bullshit. His meddling in an offense he did not understand and Brady had perfected decades ago. His constant criticism. Publicly blaming Brady when things didn't go according to plan. A plan he had no part in putting together. This was common knowledge a month and a half ago:

[Note: I've got to stop using that GIF as a thumbnail.]

And so the palace coup came to fruition at the Manchester U. game where he took a transoceanic flight to plead his case directly to Bucs ownership. A day later, he was no longer retired. A two week delay in announcing Arians new career path allowed the coach to save face. A little. But nevertheless, this whole situation was the Bucs head coach saying, "This pie is dry!" and being handed a goblet of poisoned wine. 

Arians is being replaced by Todd Bowles, a defensive coordinator with one, highly unsuccessful head coaching stint (apart from three weeks as an interim back in 2011). Meaning he fits exactly the criteria that suit Brady's needs as he runs the team: He'll be compliant, stay out of the way, and keep his hands off the offense. 

Which brings me, at long last, to the premise here: Bill Belichick. 

I take a back seat to no man when it comes to my affinity for Tom Brady. I was one of the first out-of-the-closet Bradysexuals and my orientation hasn't changed. But there's no denying that at some point he did. When exactly, is open to speculation. But it's highly unlikely that he got to Tampa and then just suddenly decided he wanted more autonomy. To control everything from the on-field calls to the personnel moves. That had to have come sooner. In New England. 

If you're one of the majority of people who believe he resented Belichick for drafting Jimmy Garoppolo, your date would be spring of 2014. If you think he went to ownership demanding they trade Jimmy G, you're looking at 2017. If not, there's always 2018, after Belichick sat Malcolm Butler in the Super Bowl against the Eagles. But we saw Brady and Gisele's reaction to losing that game on his "Tom vs. Time" docuseries, and just the fact he was making a docuseries would seem to indicate he was starting to say "Fuck it" and do what he wanted. At the very latest, we can point to the 2019 season, since he has admitted he knew it was his final year in Foxboro before it began. Exacerbated by his resentment over the team releasing Antonio Brown after just nine days. 

But whenever it began, all this paints a picture of an athlete who had achieved unprecedented success and wanted more of a say in how things were done. Of someone who wanted the kind of control that a Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning, Lebron James and Aaron Rodgers have enjoyed. It took him less than two years to get it in Tampa. But he couldn't get it in 20 years in New England. And wouldn't if he'd stayed there for 120 years. 

Like the headline says, this is as impressive an accomplishment as Belichick has had in a career full of success. To be so proficient at running a team that you can win a power struggle over the greatest athlete the sport has ever known is an unparalleled achievement in an age where all teams have to bend the knee to talent. (I mean, maybe back in the day Miller Huggins had enough juice to tell Babe Ruth to sober up and fly right, but that ship sailed with free agency.) And the reason the GOAT of coaches could defeat the GOAT of quarterbacks in a Super Heavyweight title bout like this one is simply because he's too good in all facets of the job. From team building to cap management to player development to all the minor details. 

Consider the fact that Brady just got a coach removed because he didn't want him interfering with what Brady is trying to accomplish. Now compare that to Belichick, who is perceived as a defensive coach. Thenwatch this short clip from 2009:

What that demonstrates is a complete grasp of everything the offense is trying to do, what Brady is seeing, what his reads are, and what might work against their toughest opponent. And the Dark Lord has a dozen more years of experience working with these concepts. And developing others. 

So even if Brady was trying to wrest more control for himself over his last few years here, it was futile. Players come and players go, even if they're the best there ever was. But when you've got a person of this caliber running your organization, you let him run it for as long as he wants. 

I'm still sorry Brady is not here. But watching him take over in Tampa makes me all the more grateful the Kraft family sided with Belichick. 

Boston Globe. Getty Images.