Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe offered a deep and sincere apology to Tom Brady on Monday.
The legendary NFL tight end and three-time Super Bowl champion has been one of Brady’s biggest critics for many years. Sharpe frequently ripped Brady on FS1’s “Undisputed” which he co-hosted with Skip Bayless, the latter being a well-known Brady super fan.
But during Monday’s edition of ESPN’s “First Take” (h/t Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post), Sharpe offered an apology to Brady, admitting that he didn’t give the seven-time Super Bowl champion “enough credit” for the New England Patriots’ dynasty:
“No, I don’t think he’s (Bill Belichick) just another coach, I think the success he’s had with his team over the last two decades is something to be applauded and commended.
I think what has happened, and I can just speak for me, is I owe Brady an apology because I don’t think I gave him enough credit. I should’ve given him even more credit, because what Brady allowed coach Belichick to do, Brady is the largest eraser in pro sports…
Every mistake that coach Belichick made during those two decades, Brady could erase it. You took a bad receiver? Brady would take a mistake that you made in the first, second, or third round, and erase it with Julian Edelman.”
Following Brady’s departure from the Pats in 2020, countless fans and pundits began debating if Brady was more responsible for the New England dynasty than Belichick. Less than four years later, the answer seems crystal clear.
New England is now 26-30 since Brady’s departure. The 46-year-old went on to win a Super Bowl 55 championship in his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, before leading them to consecutive NFC South division titles.
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Of course, one can’t overlook all of Belichick’s accomplishments. It was his genius defensive gameplans and strategies that shut down all-time great offenses like those of the St. Louis Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts and Kansas City Chiefs in postseason games during the dynastic run that produced six Super Bowls.
Regardless of who was more important during New England’s run of dominance, this much remains obvious: Brady and Belichick needed each other to succeed, and there won’t be a quarterback-coach duo like this ever again.
