Tom Brady vs. Bill Belichick beef: Revisiting infamous feud between iconic NFL HC-QB duo

For almost two decades, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick were the quintessential player-coach duo in the NFL. Together, they made nine Super Bowls, winning six, and broke multiple records.

They seemed destined to rule the league for as long as they wished - until it did not happen. But what exactly happened for this seemingly unbreakable bond to end?

The Tom Brady-Bill Belichick feud did not explode until 2017

Alex Guerrero was the catalyst of the Brady-Belichick split

Brady and Belichick are, like most pairs of people, different from each other. The former, while unflinching on the gridiron, is one of the warmest people off it, well-liked by many. Belichick, meanwhile, is a rather cold and icy figure, not above culling fan favorites if it means he can maximize the team's potential.

There had been earlier red herrings, like when Brady rehabbed his 2008 ACL injury in Los Angeles rather than Foxborough or when Belichick left Brady to take the brunt of Deflategate. But even then, their bond persisted.

But there was one person who greatly bothered Belichick: Alex Guerrero, Brady's personal trainer. He first met No. 12 in 2006. Two years later, he helped with the aforementioned recovery from his ACL injury. Together, they invented the TB12 Method, and as the years passed and Brady got better even with his advancing age, every other Patriot wanted in and started spurning the New England in-house staff in favor of Guerrero's methods, which Belichick did not like.

Thanks to the TB12 method, Brady started believing that he could play well into 45 years of age, but Belichick refused to believe him, and this thought influenced contract talks (Brady wanted a long-term commitment; Belichick preferred short-term deals). Ever the consummate forward thinker, he drafted Jimmy Garoppolo in 2014, with the long-term idea of replacing Brady with him.

However, owner Robert Kraft liked Brady, so much so, that he "defeated" Belichick in a 2017 face-to-face meeting. Early in that season, Garoppolo was traded to the San Francisco 49ers for a draft pick.

But Belichick ultimately emerged as the last man standing in Foxborough. Three years later, Brady was gone, heading to Tampa to join the friendlier Bruce Arians. Together, they won Super Bowl LV, the oldest QB-coach pairing to do so.

Is the relationship between Bill Belichick and Mac Jones strained?

Mac Jones and Bill Belichick have not had the best of bonds

Since Brady left, the Patriots have been rebuilding behind Mac Jones. But not even the youngster has had the rosiest of relationships with Belichick.

A report has recently emerged of Belichick shopping the young quarterback around the league, which a Patriots insider recently shot down. But the tension stems from way back last year, when Jones attempted to go behind his coaches' back to solicit ways to improve the inconsistent New England offense, according to Boston-based sports writer Tom Curran:

“As we know, a disloyalty in Bill’s mind is almost worse than bad play,” Curran said in an interview with WEEI. “Mac [Jones], even though you could say it’s ironic because he’s trying to get better and he’s wondering ‘Are we (Patriots) supposed to be doing it this way?’ And he’s asking around the football world about it. That effort to improve was showing up the Matt Patricia-Joe Judge contingent that Bill put in charge. When Bill caught wind of it — he’s still pissed about it.”

Whether Mac Jones goes or stays, it will be interesting to see how Belichick and the Patriots fare this year. With Tua Tagovailoa and Josh Allen still going strong, and the New York Jets awaiting Aaron Rodgers, New England will need a proven QB to remain competitive in the AFC East.