TAMPA, Fla — Tom Brady playing in the Super Bowl is nothing new. After all, he’s been to a whopping nine of them.
However, there is something different about his appearance this year.
No, it’s not that it’s happening during a pandemic. And it’s not because he’ll become the first quarterback to lead his team to a Super Bowl in their home stadium.
It’s the absence of head coach Bill Belichick.
When Brady suits up for his 10th appearance on football’s biggest stage, it will be the first without Belichick as his head coach. The duo experienced a level of success that most can only dream about during Brady’s 20-year stint with the New England Patriots. When news broke that Brady would be heading to Tampa Bay in the offseason, it sent shockwaves through the football world.
Could Tom Brady, a 43-year-old quarterback, be the legend he was in New England without Belichick at the helm?
It turns out, yes.
But as Brady pointed out during a press conference on Monday, Belichick remains an influential figure in his life.
“Well, I have a great relationship with him,” Brady said. “Again, I’m just incredibly grateful for what he’s meant in my life as a coach. He was everything you could ask for as a player and I loved my time – I had two incredible decades there. And, you know, my football journey took me to a different place and I certainly could have never of accomplished the things in my career without his support and his teachings.”
He added that Belichick was an “incredible coach and mentor,” and although he acknowledged the many coaches he’s had in his career, Belichick is “at the top of the list.”
Brady’s first Super Bowl without Belichick can be watched locally on 10 Tampa Bay at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
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