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One could say Seth Wickersham, who has written arguably the definitive behind-the-scenes look at the Patriots’ two-decade dynasty, has better insights into the minds of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady than most in the media world.
So his latest thoughts on Brady’s uncertain future after the 2022 season hold some weight. Unfortunately, they probably won’t make New England fans too happy.
In a live Tuesday interview with Danny Kanell and former NFL defensive lineman Dusty Dvoracek on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio, the investigative journalist and author of “It’s Better to Be Feared” threw cold water on the notion that the 45-year-old quarterback would return to Foxborough for one last shot at glory before riding off into the sunset.
“I just can’t see that ever happening. I think Brady and Coach [Bill] Belichick are on good terms, but I just cannot see him returning to New England to play,” Wickersham said.
The Patriots’ current quarterback quandary with second-year passer Mac Jones, the impending end of Belichick’s and Brady’s NFL careers and some recent positive vibes between the two have sparked interest into the possibility of them getting the band back together for another Super Bowl run before they both retired.
Wickersham also suggested both Belichick and Brady do care about the “Which one matter more to the dynasty?” questions and all but said which he believes mattered more himself.
“You need both, but it’s just so obvious what an incredible player [Brady] is. He elevates everything in a way that so few players ever have – maybe just only he ever has. Belichick’s brilliance as a coach over the 40-plus years he’s been in the NFL, you can’t really question it. But you just can’t imagine a dynasty in New England, or really a dynasty in the NFL period, without a future Hall-of-Fame quarter. It’s just absolutely critical,” Wickersham said.
“Belichick obviously won the lottery with Tom Brady, coached the heck out of him to help him become the player that he is and has continued to be. Belichick and Brady are two very special people whose lives intersected at the critical moment where both of them knew what they wanted to be so badly but also knew how fragile success is in the NFL and how fragile careers are. And they took that stroke of luck to the nth degree, further than anyone ever could’ve imagined. But obviously, you can’t have a dynasty in the NFL without a great quarterback.”
Of course, there’s one massive obstacle the Patriots would need to address first: who’s calling the offensive plays?
Wickersham adds it would be “hard to imagine” Belichick sticking with Patricia as the team’s offensive play-caller in 2023, though Patricia could very well stay in New England “in some role” due to his strong relationship with Belichick.
But if New England truly wanted Brady back, there’s no way Patricia would be allowed to call his plays.
“You mean Tom Brady doesn’t want to play for Matt Patricia? Is that what you’re indicating here?” Wickersham said sarcastically. “… I don’t know where you could possibly get that impression.”
Regardless of whether or not the Patriots do replace Patricia, the odds of a Brady-Belichick reunion feel long. It would require New England to abandon their team-building philosophy and go all-in on one season, which they rarely do. They’d also be doing it for a 46-year-old Brady who, while still very good, eventually does have to start physically declining. Who knows if he’ll even want to keep playing after this year, anyway?
More likely than not, the Patriots will start next season with Mac Jones at quarterback and hopefully have a better offensive staff and system around him to get more out of him. A return from Brady, while it would be a great story, probably isn’t that realistic.
