Ignore the noise.
Control what you can control.
Do your job.
Bill Belichick needs to do as he says.
The mantras that he’s emblazoned in the minds of endless players over his more than two decades in New England now need to hit home for the Hoodie.
With Tom Brady having dispatched Aaron Rodgers and the No. 1-seed Packers in Green Bay in the NFC title game – the Bucs overcoming his three interceptions in part thanks to his three touchdown passes in the 31-26 win, the Wild Card team’s third straight road playoff victory -- TB12 is now headed to Super Bowl LV in his first season under center in Tampa Bay.
It’s a dream season for Brady and, in many ways, a nightmare for Belichick.
Employers usually wish those that move on “well in their future endeavors,” regardless of how it ends. But not this well. Not this soon.
The 43-year-old Brady is going to his 10th Super Bowl, extending his own record, once again as the oldest player to ever suit up in the biggest game in sports.
Not only is it his first in Tampa, it’s obviously his first in anything other than a Patriots uniform, his first without Belichick to share the spotlight with.
For some, including plenty a Twitter troll and maybe a few seemingly biased online columnists, Brady’s latest, greatest achievement is Belichick’s failure. Even some former In Bill We Trusters have jumped ship. Heck, a former Patriots player expressed, jokingly or not, doubt in his ol’ coach.
Belichick’s team – aka Brady’s former squad – has, after all, been done playing for nearly a month. New England missed the postseason with a 7-9 record, the first playoff-free winter in Foxborough since back when Brady was out with a torn ACL in 2008. Cam Newton brought ugly quarterback play to the Patriots while Brady took his winning culture to Tampa.
It’s all so obvious now, all the success over the last two decades in the greatest dynasty in football history, one of the greatest dynasties in sports history, was apparently all about Brady. Belichick was just along for the ride.
At least that’s how some will see it. And that argument will grow louder this week and next, leading up to Brady’s Bucs becoming the first team in NFL history to host the Super Bowl in its own stadium, the GOAT looking to hoist another Lombardi in the shadow of the pirate ship at Raymond James Stadium.
It’s a remarkable story, it really is.
Meanwhile, Belichick has a team to rebuild, salary cap shopping spree to ponder, potential quarterback trades to assess and the most unique of NFL Drafts to prepare for with the highest pick New England has owned in more than a decade.
That’s good, because Belichick needs to focus on his To-Do List and stay as far away as possible from newspapers, the Internet, social media, talk radio (except for WEEI!) and, to be safe, any gathering that contains even a smattering of sports fans. And not just because of COVID.
Plenty of public sentiment has turned on Belichick and there is literally nothing he can do about it right now. It is what it is.
The guy who’s said endlessly over the years that what happened last week, last month or last year doesn’t matter needs to hear his own words and live it.
Get off the grid, Bill.
Go dark.
Hunker in your Foxborough football bunker. Begin to rebuild the Patriots and build an answer to Brady’s Tampa success that, as great as it is, will be short-term in the Sunshine State.
But for now, much of the football world will be lauding Brady with more praise than ever and questioning how New England could have let him leave, despite the dismal end to last season for both the quarterback and the team.
Get ready for two weeks of Brady hype and explanations of how he came to be in Tampa, be in Super Bowl LV and be gone from New England.
“It's been a great journey thus far," Brady told reporters after his latest triumph on Championship weekend. “I just made a decision. I've loved coming to work every day with this group of guys."
And his new guys love him.
“Tom's the GOAT. Last year I think we ended 7-9, and now we're heading to the Super Bowl," Bucs slot receiver Scotty Miller told reporters. "He's at the helm. He's our leader. He's probably the biggest reason we are where we are."
THAT is 100 percent true.
Of course that doesn’t mean Brady was the biggest reason the Patriots were where they were over the last two decades. Or that he was the only reason.
But now is not the time for measured analysis or balanced debate.
Brady is in the Super Bowl. Again.
The Patriots are in search of a quarterback and a foundation for future success.
So, a little look-in-the-mirror advice for Bill Belichick.
Ignore the noise.
Control what you can control.
Do your job.
To the victor belong the spoils. And right now, Brady is about as spoiled as it gets.