Outsiders may never fully know the exact nature of at least one conversation had between Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady and North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick this winter. That said, it's no secret their relationship has experienced peaks and valleys since the 2000 NFL Draft. 
On Thursday, Brady appeared on FS1's "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" program and discussed his history with the fellow living legend.
"We always had a great relationship," Brady said about Belichick, Arthur Weinstein of Awful Announcing shared. "We still do. I know there was a lot of things later in my career that people would say to try to create division. I think there was always a great respect for each other … Were there times when we didn’t see everything eye to eye? Yeah, but that’s 20 years of a relationship. … I’m not characterizing our relationship based on a few moments that weren’t perfect for either of us."
Brady and Belichick guided the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl championships over a pair of decades, but TB12 made it clear via Apple TV's "The Dynasty" documentary that was released last winter that he left the Patriots as a free agent in March 2020 because he "wasn't going to sign up for more of" playing under Belichick. The two have since mended whatever fences needed to be repaired, and many assumed as recently as earlier this month that Brady would want to hire Belichick as the Raiders' next head coach.
"We had as great of a relationship as you could have over a long period of time … There’s no coach I would have rather played for than him," Brady said of Belichick during Thursday's segment.
Reports from this week claimed that Brady had "zero interest in hiring Belichick" and that Belichick "wasn’t pleased" that the Raiders ultimately chose Pete Carroll for their opening. Somewhat interestingly, Brady mentioned on Thursday that his experiences with Belichick's Patriots were "the best moments of my life outside of being a parent."
"I think the culture that I was a part of in New England embraced a team-first attitude," Brady added. "What are the rewards of that? Championships are one, but more importantly than that, I have relationships with my teammates that go way far above and beyond what they were on the football field."
Brady either didn't or couldn't convince Belichick to establish such a culture with the Raiders. Perhaps one day, they'll reveal why a reunion didn't materialize this offseason.
