It's hard to imagine Tom Brady playing for anyone other than Bill Belichick, but the New England Patriots quarterback is determined -- after 12 seasons in the NFL -- to continue on for another decade.
Brady and Belichick make up arguably the most dangerous coach-passer combination in NFL history, but Belichick doesn't cling to fading players. Brady isn't in danger of tailing off -- not yet -- but only Peyton Manning and Matt Hasselbeck have more time logged at the position among current players.
Brady admits it might be Belichick who ultimately pulls plug.
"I'm still working hard, doing my job, because that's what he's looking for," Brady told Jarrett Bell of USAToday.com. "And the day that's not what he's looking for, there comes a time for everybody. I hope to make that decision hard on him for a very, very long time."
The history on Belichick is telling. As coach of the Cleveland Browns way back when, he didn't shy away from cutting quarterback Bernie Kosar, a wildly unpopular move that generated a meltdown among fans. He later traded away Drew Bledsoe to make way for Brady in New England, and he's done the same with aging players on both sides of the ball ever since.
All of this is a ways off, but Brady knows his coach well enough to forecast how this ultimately might play out.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.