Bill Belichick gives his take on how Tom Brady fared in FOX broadcasting debut

"I thought he brought up a lot of great points in the game."

Tom Brady made the move up to the broadcasting booth for Sunday’s Week 1 matchup between the Cowboys and Browns, and the Patriots legend’s debut on the mic was … decidedly mixed.

Brady, who signed a 10-year, $375 million contract with FOX to serve as their lead analyst on broadcasts, will likely need some time to sharpen his skills in his new role.

While the seven-time Super Bowl champion’s resume speaks for itself, his debut with FOX featured several pauses and some hesitancy to expand on the evident football IQ he possess.

But even with the expected growing pains that will come with Brady’s new role, his longtime Patriots coach in Bill Belichick offered up high praise for his efforts this week.

“I thought Tom was great. I think that he had a lot better day when Dallas went to Cleveland than I had in my first game in Cleveland when Dallas came in,” Belichick said on the latest episode of the “Let’s Go!” podcast with Jim Gray. “… I thought Tom did great. I thought he brought up a lot of great points in the game.

“Certainly the number of times Cleveland went backwards he continued to highlight, and that’s a problem. … He made some good points about (Browns quarterback) Deshaun (Watson) hanging in there, even at the end of the game.”

While Belichick isn’t exactly a broadcasting maven (despite appearing on nearly 10 programs shows per week during this 2024 NFL season), Brady did also receive some reassuring words from longtime sports broadcaster Joe Buck, who preached patience against those who were underwhelmed by Brady’s debut.

“This is a hard job, and we all do our piece of it,” Buck said Monday on “The Michael Kay Show,” as transcribed by Dylan Svoboda of the New York Post. “We all have to be able to settle in; know what you need to know. I talked to him on Friday, and I don’t think anybody’s put in more work into being prepared for his first broadcast than Tom did.

“And now, you have to go forward and settle in. It’s grossly unfair that everybody wants to weigh in after five seconds. That’s not the way it works.”

Brady will continue his broadcasting career on Sunday by calling the Cowboys’ Week 2 matchup against the Saints in Arlington, Texas.