A.G. Gancarski
Gov. Ron DeSantis went to law school in Boston, and he’s finally weighing in on who he thinks was responsible for the New England Patriots’ dynasty.
During a press conference, DeSantis credited legendary quarterback Tom Brady with having been the indispensable piece, slighting longtime head coach Bill Belichick in the process.
“Brady wasn’t a product of the system. Brady was the system. He was the straw that stirred the drink and he was the reason why they won the six Super Bowls more than anything else,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis acknowledged that Belichick is a “great coach.”
But he compared and contrasted their respective performances in their first years away from each other. Whereas Brady took “a pretty mediocre” Buccaneers team to a Super Bowl win, DeSantis believes “the bottom immediately (fell) out of the franchise” in New England without him.
The Brady-Belichick debate actually mirrors the disagreement among some whether DeSantis or President Donald Trump is the better leader, especially given the alignment that Brady and the DeSantis family have had over the years.
When Brady was quarterbacking Tampa’s team, he issued a video message of support for First Lady Casey DeSantis’ resiliency initiative in 2021. Brady said “putting in the work and continuing to do the right thing day after day will always pay off in the end.”
The Governor pleaded with Brady not to retire from football. And during a campaign speech in New Hampshire, DeSantis thanked the Patriots faithful for the team releasing Brady so he could come play in Florida, before noting that he switched his allegiance to the Jacksonville Jaguars after Brady retired because “the Bucs (were) on the way down.”
Meanwhile, Belichick has been friends with Trump since before the second-term President entered politics. The coach also interviewed him on a podcast just before the election last year.
