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Former New England Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel Sr. once again denounced his former coach Bill Belichick's legacy, specifically in regards to his longtime former teammate Tom Brady.
Samuel, who just days prior found himself in Twitter spats with New York Jets second-year cornerback Ahmad 'Sauce' Gardner and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Darrelle Revis, reignited his apparent longstanding apparent feud with Belichick when asked by former NFL cornerback and current CBS Sports reporter Bryant McFadden if the 71-year-old was the best coach in NFL history.
“Absolutely not,” Samuel said. “Are you crazy? Look at his record without Tom [Brady]. You got to win without Tom. One thing I learned about being great, you have to be great in different situations. “It was all Tom, I was there, I saw it, it was Tom.”
“Everybody know it, Tom know it,” Samuel added. “But he ain’t gonna admit because he wanna be politically correct. That’s why I’m here. Imma tell the truth… I’ve been there, I’ve seen him, I’ve confronted him, that’s how I do.”
Samuel, who played alongside Brady and under Belichick in New England during his first five NFL seasons (2003-07), had previously referred to Belichick as "just another coach" months after Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl victory during his first season away from the Patriots.
"Cold blooded is a [sic] understatement! But without Brady he is just another coach in my opinion," Samuel tweeted in response to ESPN's Louis Riddick, who tweeted that Belichick "is cold blooded and will do what he thinks he has to do," in response to news of the Patriots releasing Cam Newton and announcing then-rookie Mac Jones as their starting quarterback.
The four-time Pro Bowler had also claimed he "made Belichick understand the cornerback position better and how to make plays in any coverage" in June 2020.
"He never agreed with the way I played but now he teaches it," Samuel tweeted.
Samuel also said he didn't believe Brady needed Belichick as much as the coach needed the quarterback in a tweet shared in April 2020, shortly after Brady's decision to sign with the Bucs as a free agent.
"I think Bill Belichick needed Tom to be successful. Do you think Tom needs Bill??? My answer is Nooo. Talk to me," Samuel tweeted.
Samuel's tenure with the Patriots ended on bad terms as he was forced to play his final year under the franchise tag and then left as a free agent after dropping a would-be game-securing interception during Super Bowl XLII, which would have given New England a perfect season. Brady and Belichick are arguably the greatest quarterback-coaching duo in NFL history, having won a record six Super Bowls together before Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020.
The duo's relationship, however, has been a topic of discussion leading up to and even after their split.
“I have a great relationship with him,” Brady said about Belichick during Super Bowl LV Media Day in February 2021 via CBS Boston. “Again, I’m just incredibly grateful for what he’s meant in my life as a coach. He was everything you could ask for as a player. I loved my time, I had two incredible decades there. My football journey took me to a different place.”