Belichick and Brady, Michael Holley
Belichick and Brady, Michael Holley
40 Rating(s)
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Belichick and Brady
Two Men, the Patriots, and How They Revolutionized Football

Author: Michael Holley

Narrator: Dan Woren

Unabridged: 13 hr 59 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/04/2016

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

New York Times bestselling sportswriter Michael Holley takes readers behind the scenes of the relationship that transformed the Patriots from a middling franchise to the envy of the NFL.

No head coach-quarterback pair has been more successful in NFL history than Bill Belichick and Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. They have won four Super Bowls, six AFC championships, and thirteen division titles. And now Holley takes us inside their relationship, dissecting how these men and their team came to dominate football.

Belichick, a genius as a defensive coordinator, had been a five-year flop as head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Upon his controversial arrival in Foxboro, though, he quickly began to remake the team at every level--scouts, coaches, and players. His bold, calculated approach had fans up in arms, sportswriters questioning his intelligence, and players wondering how long they would last on the team.

Meanwhile, buried down in the 2000 NFL draft, the 199th overall pick was a skinny kid from the University of Michigan named Tom Brady who many scouts thought would never succeed at a professional level. The lowest of the four quarterbacks on the team's depth chart, he appeard to be just one of the guys. Like Belichick, though, he lived for football, and he knew the playbook as well as Drew Bledsoe, the franchise quarterback. And when Bledsoe was injured in 2001, Brady took the job and vowed to never give it back.

The handsome Brady became a star, wearing hand-tailored suits, appearing in movies and on magazine covers, and marrying a supermodel. Belichick, with his trademark cut-off hoodies, was the opposite of a fashion plate. Together, the odd couple somehow rose above controversies and tragedies. Draft picks were lost, suspensions given, lawsuits filed. As their legends have grown, so have their critics, with some of those critics operating from NFL headquarters. Despite that, with Belichick's deft and brilliant strategy in the draft year in year out and Brady's exacting decision-making on the field, the Patriots cultivated an atmosphere of success and won a stunning 75 percent of their games together. Respected and reviled, Belichick and Brady have set the bar high for excellence in a league designed for parity. They have rarely been understood. Until now. Based on dozens of interviews with former and current players, coaches, and executives, Belichick and Brady is an eye-opening look at the minds, motives, and wild ambitions of two men who have left an indelible mark on the game of football.

About Michael Holley

Michael Holley is a six-time New York Times bestselling author and former columnist at The Boston Globe. He currently works for NBC Sports, cohosting the popular show Brother From Another. Holley is also a Professor of Journalism at Boston University. He lives in Massachusetts. You can follow him on Twitter @MichaelSHolley.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Scott on March 06, 2019

2.5*'s All he did was regurgite things already public knowledge. I found myself annoyed.......more

Goodreads review by John of Canada on May 10, 2021

I have trouble believing that this is the same guy that wrote War Room. I'm guessing that Holley asked Belichick a stupid question, Belichick did what Belichick does and Holley's nose was out of joint. Hence the hatcheting. Holley called Spygate a "catchy moniker". No Michael. "gate' is the most over......more

Goodreads review by Sue on December 30, 2018

Always a patriots fan enjoyed this book🏈......more

Goodreads review by Joseph on March 05, 2018

Michael Holley's third entry in his Patriot book trilogy serves as a case study of the relationship between human error and rate of success. While New England's first dynastic Super Bowl run served as a post 9/11 rallying cry, today's "Patriot Way" is viewed far more negatively by the American whole......more

Goodreads review by Gareth on March 12, 2021

This isn’t a bad book, it’s just not really about Belichick and Brady but rather a history of the New England Patriots from 2000-2015. Most of it I’d already read in other sources. This was a disappointment as they are undoubtedly the best QB/coach tandem in NFL history. Especially when the book pur......more


Quotes

Praise for Michael Holley's Books:

"Enlightening...the best thing I've read on football in recent years...Superb."
Peter King, Sports Illustrated

"A deeply reported, thoroughly engaging look at what it takes to succeed in the NFL."
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Holley has written the ultimate book for pro football geeks. From the front office to the draft room, the author provides an intimate look at three NFL teams...and the men who built them."
Publishers Weekly

"In War Room, journalist Michael Holley provides a fascinating account of how Belichick, and his top associates, Scott Pioli and Thomas Dimitroff, used the draft and shrewd trades to build the Pats into the envy of the NFL...Crisply written, the story moves along like a two-minute drill. It also sparkles with interesting anecdotes and tidbits....War Room is a lively, fast-paced insider's account that will please ardent and casual fans alike."
Boston Globe

"Usually books like this, which put organizations on pedestals, do not stand the test of time. But Holley's book reads as well now as it did a dozen or so years ago."
Hank Gilman, Forbes