Bill Belichick reveals big strategy change he let Tom Brady make

Feb 1, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick (right) celebrates with quarterback Tom Brady (12) after defeating the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Tom Brady was better than any quarterback in NFL history at navigating high-pressure situations, and the quarterback even convinced Bill Belichick to make a significant strategy change at one point.

During his Monday appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Belichick spoke about some of the clock management issues NFL teams have had this season. That led to a conversation about the unique way in which Brady handled the two-minute drill.

Belichick said that at some point around the 2013 or 2014 season, Brady asked the head coach to give Brady the freedom to decide when the New England Patriots used their timeouts late in the first half and at the end of games. As Belichick explained, the coach always liked to save at least one timeout for the end of a half or game to give the field goal unit time to set up. Brady saw things differently.

Brady told Belichick and former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels that the seven-time Super Bowl champion preferred to take timeouts sooner so he had more time to operate. Brady preferred to have more time on the clock, even if it meant having no timeouts.

“Brady said, ‘Look, I’d rather have more time and less timeouts because it gives me more options than less time and a timeout. So let me handle it. If I screw it up, then that’s my fault and you can take it away from me. But I would rather you take the timeout with 27 seconds and give me more time to do something with than run a play with 27 seconds and now we go to 13 seconds and we have one timeout. I’d rather have 27 seconds and no timeouts than 12 seconds and one timeout,'” Belichick recalled Brady telling him.

“It puts a lot of responsibility on the quarterback, but Tom wanted that and I felt very confident giving it to him. So, basically, we fundamentally made that switch. I would take that third timeout a lot of times in the 30-second range even though it had gone against a little of my previous thinking because Tom felt comfortable managing the game that way, and he did it very well.”

"Tom Brady always wanted to have more time and less timeouts because it gave him more options..

It puts a lot of responsibility on the Quarterback but Tom wanted that and I felt very confident giving it to him" ~ Coach Belichick #PMSLive https://t.co/IhwjNULiJ7 pic.twitter.com/NlgraO44qg

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 30, 2024

The fascinating explanation from Belichick was just a tiny glimpse into what made the Belichick-Brady partnership so successful. They were each the best at their respective craft, and the level of trust that existed between the two was probably understated.

Many quarterbacks panic when they do not have a timeout remaining late in the game. The same is true for some coaches, and one may have even gotten fired because of a disastrous late-game situation this season. Brady was confident enough late in the game that he knew he didn’t need a timeout to put his team in position to win.