In the nauseating Bill Belichick versus Tom Brady debate, the former New England Patriots dynastic coach might take the Brady side -- at least publicly.
During his weekly appearance on SiriusXM's "Let's Go" podcast, Belichick reiterated his long-publicized belief that players win games -- and, ultimately, championships. Without great players, coaches are simply whistle-jockeys.
"Players win games. You can't win games without good players," Belichick said. "I don't care who the coach is, it's impossible. You can't win without good players. You know, I found that out when I had [Lawrence] Taylor and [Carl] Banks and Harry Carson, Pepper Johnson, Jim Burt, Everson Walls, all those guys at the Giants. And same thing when we got good at Cleveland and then at New England. I mean, it's [Tom] Brady, it's [Willie] McGinest, it's [Mike] Vrabel, it's [Tedy] Bruschi, it's Corey Dillon, it's Randy Moss, Troy Brown, Lawyer Milloy, Ty Law, Rodney Harrison. Those are guys that won the games, man. I didn't make any tackles. I didn't make any kicks. That was [Adam] Vinatieri that made that kick in four inches of snow.
"You gotta have good players and as a coach, you want to give your players a chance to win. You wanna put 'em in a position where if they go out there and play well, they'll have a chance to win. That's what coach [Bill] Parcells taught me, is there's always a way to win. You just gotta figure out what it is, and you have to give the players a chance."
Co-host Jim Gray noted that "they didn't name it the Starr Trophy, it's named the Lombardi Trophy."
Belichick quipped: "Maybe they should name it the Brady Trophy. He won seven of them."
Belichick is correct. Players ultimately win games, and players lose games. However, the greatest coaches are the ones who most consistently give those great players an edge. The greatest coaches ensure their players are better prepared than their opponents. The greatest coaches call players or concoct a scheme to give those players a better chance to win -- like, for instance, Belichick once did with the famous Bullseye Gameplan in Super Bowl XXXVI.
Plenty of good coaches haven't won a thing without excellent players, and plenty of great players haven't won squat sans superb coaching. The marriage between the two makes a dynasty -- regardless of what they call the trophy at the end of the gauntlet.