Tom Brady's Dad on QB, Belichick, Patriots: 'It's OK to Take Different Paths'

Tom Brady's father, Tom Brady Sr., recently opened up about his son's departure from the New England Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick during an appearance on Raising Fame: Sports Edition with Dell and Sonya Curry (h/t Devon Clements of Sports Illustrated):

"Bill's got a lot of responsibilities to keep the Patriots on track. That is a bigger responsibility than keeping Tommy under the hood. Both of them are mature individuals. I really respect Bill's decision and respect Tommy's decision as well. It's okay to take different paths. You don't have to stay joined at the hip.

"The Patriots were darn good to us and darn good to Tommy. Now that he's moved on, it's kind of fun. We get to see some different sights of the world. We don't get down to Florida very often, or down to that area. It's pretty cool."

Brady Sr. also believes his son's move to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could help "reinvigorate things" for the 42-year-old legend.

The 20-year veteran already has six Super Bowl rings, three league MVPs, two Offensive Player of the Year awards and 14 Pro Bowl selections, but he has spent his entire career on the Patriots. The move to Tampa Bay presents a new challenge as he looks to guide a franchise that hasn't won a playoff game since the 2002 campaign.

Brady will have game-changing wide receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans at his disposal, so it isn't difficult to envision the team reaching the playoffs.

As for the split between Brady and Belichick, ESPN's Seth Wickersham wrote a lengthy piece exploring the breakup. Wickersham revealed the quarterback felt unappreciated during his final year in New England and even had a "blowup" during a meeting with the head coach.

During an appearance on ESPN's Get Up! last week, Wickersham also said the relationship between Brady and Belichick was "icy" at times.

Despite the apparent issues near the end of a legendary run for Brady and Belichick, the quarterback's father offered respect for the head coach and acknowledged the "different paths" don't change everything they accomplished together.