The situation between Tom Brady’s personal trainer and the New England Patriots coaching staff may not affect the way the team performs this season, but you have to wonder if it will become a bigger issue going forward.
Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal did some further digging into the tension that exists between Alex Guerrero and Bill Belichick. What he learned is that Guerrero’s influence over Patriots players has grown in recent years, with Brady’s right-hand man now treating roughly 20 players in Foxboro. As his following has grown, Guerrero has reportedly become “more emboldened” with giving players advice and telling them to adhere to his program if it conflicts with the instructions the Patriots’ training and medical staffs have given. Bedard cited an example:
One example: a Patriots starter was told by Guerrero not to do squats. When the strength staff made that part of the player’s normal in-season workout, the player refused to do the exercise. That only added to the tension between the Patriots and Guerrero.
According to Bedard, Belichick met with Guerrero early in the season and informed him “professionally” that the team wants players to be on the same page with the team’s employees. When Guerrero informed some of his associates of that conversation, he apparently painted Belichick in a negative light, and Bedard was told that resulted in a relationship that may be strained beyond repair.
And if Patriots fans really want to panic over what all the Guerrero drama could mean for the future, there’s this:
The situation has absolutely become a source of friction between Brady and Belichick. But unless Brady forces the issue and demands Guerrero’s reinstatement, no one believes it will affect the team on the field.
But that hasn’t stopped some behind the scenes at Gillette from referring to Guerrero as “Yoko Guerrero,” in reference to Yoko Ono, the wife of John Lennon who some believe caused the breakup of The Beatles.
Had the Patriots not traded Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers, this could be about the time when it would be fair to wonder if that ugly divorce many have predicted between Belichick and Brady could be imminent. As he always does, Belichick has tried to sweep the Guerrero talk under the rug by lashing out at reporters. But the more we learn, the more it seems like a real issue is brewing at 1 Patriot Place.
