We've already learned that no one -- not even Tom Brady -- is fully immune from Bill Belichick's cold, calculating personnel management after the Patriots allowed him to leave to Tampa Bay in 2020 rather than keep him a Patriot for life.
As it turns out, the sage words of throwing guru Tom House might have kept the GOAT with the Patriots even longer than he otherwise might have.
While discussing Brady's longevity compared to fellow ageless wonder Nolan Ryan -- both of whom House worked with in his career -- on "The Rich Eisen Show," House recalled a story about Belichick asking his opinion on how good Brady could continue to be as he neared his 40s.
"If you follow four basic principles -- biomechanics, functional strength, mental/emotional management and nutrition and sleep for recovery -- there's no reason an athlete can't do at age 45 what he did at age 25. We proved it," he said.
"By the time I got around to Tom Brady -- walking by Belichick's office one time when we had been out on the field throwing the football -- Belichick called us and said, 'Tell me why I shouldn't trade Tom Brady.' At this time, I think Brady was 36, 37.
I just said, 'Bill, the research shows that if Tom does what he's supposed to do…which he does to the tee, there's no reason he shouldn't play until he's 45.' And here we are."
For context, that would've meant trading Brady around 2013 or 2014 -- the year the Patriots started their dynastic revival with the Super Bowl win over the Seattle Seahawks.
The reason, House, explained is that few quarterbacks had, to that point, played at an elite level into their 40s, leading Belichick to ponder moving on from his longtime starting quarterback. He even drafted Jimmy Garoppolo in 2014 to be Brady's potential replacement.
But as House predicted, Brady outplayed time, forcing the Patriots to keep him while justifying their faith with three more Super Bowl titles before departing the franchise at age 42. Of course, he then broke his own record for oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl by leading the Bucs to a championship the very next season.
Just last year, Brady put up an absurd 5,316 passing yards and 43 touchdowns, suggesting he still has plenty left in the tank -- though retirement feels inevitable after this season.
Just imagine what would've happened if Brady had gone someplace else in the mid-2010s and went on to have the kind of career he did outside of Foxborough. Belichick would've been under far more scrutiny than he is now even after letting Brady walk three off-seasons ago.
That crisis might have been averted, though, all because Belichick called House into his office one day.
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