Giardi: Reaction league-wide to the Patriots parting ways with Belichick

As reaction poured in to the news that Bill Belichick was out as the Patriots head coach after 24 years, there was a line in Tom Brady's Instagram tribute that stood out.

"I could have never been the player I was without you Coach Belichick."

Does that answer the chicken or the egg question? The greatest quarterback of his generation, and probably of all time (I can't tell you about Otto Graham and the like. Before my time), once again declaring his success went hand-in-hand with the man who helped lead the franchise to six Super Bowl titles. There was more, including "He set the tone for the organization to never falter in the face of adversity, and to do what we could do, and what was in our control, which was to go out and DO OUR JOB."

On WEEI, Hall of Famer Ty Law declared that Belichick meant "everything" to him. 

"One, he always held me accountable," said Law. "That’s one thing about Coach Belichick, he’s always gonna put it to you straight. He wasn’t trying to have a buddy-buddy type of relationship. You had to earn those extra minutes or that extra time as far as him giving you the attention that you might want or need. He’s gonna do that hard-nosed coaching. I always appreciated that.

“I was fortunate to be able to have him early in my career as my position coach, so I got to be with him on an everyday basis, and I was able to see the transition from being a DB coach, a position coach, to a head coach. I was a little shocked, because I was like, ‘Damn Bill, you’ve changed.’ But I had to understand as a young player that he’s a head coach now, not just our coach and not just in our defensive back meeting room."

Randy Moss, who Belichick traded a 4th round pick for then let he and Brady loose on the NFL world in 2007-08 to the tune of 98 catches, 1,493 yards and 23 touchdowns (Brady threw 50 that season), was short and sweet about his former boss.

"Give this man his respect and his just due," he said. "In my eyes, he's the greatest coach that the NFL has ever seen. I wish I could get out on a boat with Coach and do some fishing and talk it up. I wish him the best."

Another Hall of Famer - one that Belichick drafted - Richard Seymour, took to X (formally Twitter), to express his feelings on the moment.

In Kansas City, as his team prepares for a playoff game this weekend, Andy Reid called Belichick "the best I've ever gone against," praising him for his ability to handle all aspects of the operation, on and off the field. “That’s a tough thing to do for that long. He did well, though, great.”

Mike McDaniel, Dolphins head coach, was taken aback by the news of Belichick, and that of Pete Carroll and Nick Saban over the last 24 hours. 

“It’s a reminder to me that, you know, I’m just gonna be candid that Father Time’s a d—," said McDaniel. "You know, really not a nice guy. But it’s real, and I think it reminds you that everything is finite, and I think a lot of people have gained a lot of perspective, motivation. The leadership of Coach Belichick has been really, really cool to watch.

“He’s been at the chair for 24 years in one organization. And it wasn’t because of entertaining press conferences. It was because he did his due diligence at what his job was.

“So, I have a lot of regard and, as you can tell, I’m kind of mourning the loss of those three (referencing Carroll and Saban as well), for sure.”

Some on social media took this as a shot (and you blame me for being negative). I don't. There's a great deal of respect there. McDaniel comes from the Shanahan tree, and Belichick is the only person the Shanahans like more than themselves.

As I scrolled through social media, I saw many past and present Patriots offering tributes to the 71-year-old.