Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. (Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- According to a new book due out Tuesday from ESPN's Ian O'Connor called "Belichick: The Making of the Greatest Football Coach of All Time," Patriots quarterback Tom Brady felt trapped this past offseason and wasn't sure he wanted to keep playing for Belichick.
O'Connor told his network he spoke with 350 people the last few years and determined the source of recent conflict between the coach and QB.
"Once Belichick drafted [former Patriots backup QB Jimmy] Garoppolo in 2014 and said that night, he cited Tom's age and contract status and said 'I'd rather be early than late at this position,' it made it inevitable, and it happened last year," O'Connor said. "Our very own Seth Wickersham did a masterful job portraying the escalating tension between those two. It came down to Garoppolo's presence.
"Also, 17, 18 years of being coached in an unforgiving way by Belichick wore Brady down," he continued. "And then of course, the way Belichick marginalized Alex Guerrero, his business partner and life coach, it all came together to represent a last straw. I was told by a number of sources that, as late as late March, Brady wasn't sure he was gonna play again for Belichick."
A source close to Belichick and Brady told O'Connor, "If you’re married 18 years to a grouchy person who gets under your skin and never compliments you, after a while you want to divorce him. Tom knows Bill is the best coach in the league, but he’s had enough of him. If Tom could, I think he would divorce him.”
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) reports