It’s December 11th, 2011. Football Sunday has started, and Tom Brady and Bill Belichick’s evil empire continues to dominate the league with a decade under its belt and counting. The Patriots were 10-3 at that point, while the then-Washington redskins were 4-9 under Mike Shanahan. Although the patriots managed to win, they did it a lot less convincingly than expected at that point.
This was because Tom Brady, who has historically been near flawless in the red zone, threw a late 4th quarter pick, giving the Redskins a chance to make a late comeback. While Brady has always been viewed as a calm and composed leader, the star quarterback, in a rare occurrence was seen shouting at his then-assistant coach, Bill O’Brien. Here’s a breakdown of what really happened.
It was 3rd down, and the assistant coach called a play that was run quite often in the Patriots’ offensive scheme. The intended receiver was Tiquan Underwood, who didn’t run the very best route, hence leading to a 4th quarter pick.
This was bound to cause some friction on the sidelines as the Patriots, at that time, were used to nothing but greatness. Tom Brady later on admitted that he did something very unusual of his character, which was to approach the receiver and reprimand him regarding the route. Bill O’Brien heard this slight scuffle, and proceeded to tell the star quarterback to “Shut the F*ck UP”.
Tom Brady, hearing this, replied with his own choice of words, which included calling the offensive coordinator by his nickname, “the teapot”, granted due to his short-tempered nature.
Are Tom Brady and Bill O’Brien still beefing?
Now, it’s more than a decade later. While the two former Pats offensive masterminds sorted their differences rather quickly, many fans are still left wondering whether the truce was just for the media, or did the two actually bury this unfortunate happening.
Although no one can confirm the actuality of the situation, the duo was seen hugging each after the game was over. The Patriots went on to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, where Eli Manning and the Giants managed to get the better of Tom Brady.
Bill O’Brien, after being the head coach of the Houston Texans from 2014 to 2020, has now finally returned to New England. He will be the offensive coordinator under Bill Belichick after being the frontrunner for the position for quite some time.
Alabama OC/QB coach Bill O’Brien has returned to New England and is being named the Patriots offensive coordinator, sources tell @ClowESPN and me. O’Brien was a Patriots’ assistant coach from 2007-2011, and now returns to coach Mac Jones, whom he briefly worked with at Alabama.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 24, 2023
The Patriots desperately need some magic to revive the once-glorious franchise. While many believe that rehiring O’Brien is a good move, it won’t turn the franchise around. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
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