It’s far from a secret that there’s no love lost between former NFL head coach-turned-NFL analyst Rex Ryan and New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
After all, the two spent eight seasons as division rivals during Ryan’s run with the New York Jets (2009-14) and Buffalo Bills (2015-16), in which Ryan mustered a 4-12 record against Belichick’s Patriots.
When Ryan started to go on a rant about Belichick and the 2-9 Patriots following their 10-7 Week 12 loss to the New York Giants during an appearance on ESPN’s “Get Up,” things seemed to get personal for Ryan in a hurry.
“Tom Brady was the only reason you won anyway,” Ryan said. “…Tom Brady was the absolute difference, I said from jump they would never win again when [Brady] trotted down to Tampa…because I know how draining that is to those kids. That is what you’re facing right now. … Bill Belichick: greatest in history. I will never dispute that. Had my a-- kicked by him a million times; if you think for a minute it wasn’t about Tom Brady, you’re absolutely crazy.”
Belichick is just 27-34 (.442 win percentage) since Brady left following the 2019 season. He had a 219-64 record and .773 win percentage in the 20 seasons Brady was his QB. However, Belichick’s lack of success in the post-Brady era wasn’t the only thing that Ryan took issue with.
The 60-year-old analyst also ripped Belichick for his handling of New England’s starting quarterback. Mac Jones has started all 11 games for the Pats this season, but he’s been benched for Bailey Zappe four times. Belichick declined to name a starting QB for next week’s matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.
“Bill Belichick, please stop,” Ryan added. “Just name your dang starter. It doesn’t matter. They both stink. Whether it’s Zappe,‘Pea-shooter’ Jones, they stink. Just go ahead and save the drama, like we care about your drama. Your team stinks.”
Would Bill Belichick consider bringing in an outside QB over the last six weeks of the season? pic.twitter.com/J7Uame3Gjo
— NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Coverage (@NBCSPatriots) November 27, 2023
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