Asante Samuel: “I think Bill Belichick needed Tom to be successful. Do you think Tom needs Bill??? My answer is No… Bill is known to be a defensive specialist. How many times did he have a top 5 defense and did they/we win the Super Bowl? Tom has always carried the team in his back with limited weapons. Josh McDaniel is the one who really raised Brady.”
Former New England Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel went viral on Wednesday after saying that he thought Bill Belichick needed Tom Brady to be successful, but that Brady didn’t need Belichick.
Not only did Samuel say that Brady ‘carried the team’, but he also thought that Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was the key member of Brady’s rise to perennial MVP, and not the defensive-minded Belichick.
Belichick’s history away from New England has been well documented. Even though he helped the New York Giants win two Super Bowls as their defensive coordinator in 1986 and 1990, Belichick went just 36-44 in 5 seasons with the Cleveland Browns from 1991-1995.
It should also be mentioned that Belichick did win 11 games in 1994 with the Browns in his second to last season there. The Browns haven’t won that many games in any season since, and have won double-digit games in a season just once since Belichick left (10-6 in 2007).
Belichick was also the last head coach to lead the Browns to a playoff victory the same year, over the Patriot no less.
Samuel was a four-time Pro Bowler who at one point was considered one of the NFL’s best corners. During his final season in New England in 2007 Samuel was named All-Pro.