Tom Brady's first move as a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders could be to hire his former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick for the same position, according to Barstool Sports host Kirk Minihane.
Minihane, who covered Boston sports for decades, claimed multiple Patriots sources told him that Brady's first move would be to hire his former coach of 20 years.
“I’ll say this, and I won’t get specific, but people have told me that Brady’s first move is going to be to ask Bill Belichick to be coach of the Las Vegas Raiders,” Minihane said on his titular show. “Two sources have told me that. Two high-up in the Patriots organization have told me that.”
Brady and Belichick won six Super Bowls together -- which tied the Patriots with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most among NFL franchises -- during their 20 seasons together. Their relationship has, however, been analyzed by sports media pundits, especially after Brady's free agency departure in 2020, leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl during his first season away from New England, though both parties have publicly denied a serious rift.
Belichick attended Brady's Netflix roast and Patriots Hall of Fame ceremony at Gillette Stadium earlier this year, despite his reported fallout with team owner Robert Kraft following his firing in January. Belichick is the third-winningest coach in NFL history and one of seven NFL head coaches to have spent more than 20 years with one franchise following George Halas (40) of the Chicago Bears, Curly Lambeau (29) of the Green Bay Packers, Tom Landry (29) of the Dallas Cowboys, Don Shula (26) of the Miami Dolphins, Steven Owen (24) of the New York Giants and Chuck Noll of the Pittsburgh Steelers, all of whom have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Brady, along with businessman Tom Wagner, initially agreed to a deal to purchase approximately 10% of the Raiders in May 2023, however, the deal needed to be refined and adjusted after the financial committee argued that it was too discounted upon agreement and later approved by the majority owners of the NFL's 32 franchises. Brady's longtime former Patriots teammate, Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end, Richard Seymour, also purchased a 0.5% stake in the franchise that was approved by the league.
Brady and Seymour joined late Chicago Bears founder George Halas and late Carolina Panthers founder Jerry Richardson as the only former NFL players to have ownership of a franchise. Brady, who signed a 10-year, $375 million contract to serve as FOX Sports' lead NFL analyst in May 2022, a role he began this season, is the NFL's all-time passing leader for yards (84,520) and touchdowns (624), as well as quarterback wins (243), among numerous other records.