Think ‘The Last Dance’ Was Good? TV Series About Patriots Dynasty Would Be Even Better

The Last Dance” was a thoroughly enjoyable project that entertained tens of millions of Americans stuck at home and living through the worst pandemic in a century. The drama surrounding Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls produced enough intrigue to cover 10 episodes, with some critics even wanting more questions answered.

It serves as a fine blueprint for whoever sets out to direct the all-encompassing series chronicling the greatest dynasty in NFL history, the New England Patriots. Let’s call it, “The Patriot Way.” (It is a phrase Belichick says he’s never uttered, and yet is linked with the franchise.)

Imagine this for a plot: just days after setting the Super Bowl passing record in a crushing defeat, Tom Brady, much like Jordan in 1997-98, is contemplating the next chapter of his life. But while Jordan refused to play for another coach besides Phil Jackson, the greatest quarterback of all-time seemingly wants nothing more than to play for another coach besides Bill Belichick. It marks the beginning of a wild 26-month ride, featuring another successful Super Bowl run, and culminating in Brady’s shocking free agent exit to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Much like how Bulls general manager Jerry Krause wanted to rebuild, Belichick was seemingly itching to move on from the Brady era. As free agency approached, the gruff head coach held one unproductive phone call with Brady, who visited owner Robert Kraft in person to tearfully announce his departure — just one week before Massachusetts enacted a stay-at-home order due to the coronavirus.

Though Kraft publicly says he wanted Brady to return, it’s apparent Belichick had the owner’s ear — just like how Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf entrusted Krause. But unlike Krause, a short and slovenly executive, Belichick is also the best football coach ever. Belichick’s clout in New England is immense, further complicating his reported rift with Brady.

We have an abundance of real-time reporting that documents the apparent Brady-Belichick feud. ESPN’s Seth Wickersham published the opening expose in January 2018, interviewing sources who said Brady was tiring of Belichick’s austere atmosphere. “At the same time, as his age has increased, Brady has become an advocate of positive thinking,” Wickersham writes. “Belichick’s negativity and cynicism have gotten old, Brady has told other Patriots players and staff. He feels he has accomplished enough that he shouldn’t have to endure so much grief.”

That season, Belichick reportedly curbed the access of Brady’s guru and confidante, Alex Guerrero, annoyed the TB12 Method was overtaking the Belichick Way. There was also the surprising trade of Jimmy Garoppolo for a mere second-round pick, which Wickersham reports Belichick initially resisted. When Belichick selected Garoppolo in the 2014 NFL Draft, he explicitly referenced “Tom’s age and contract situation.”

Brady wound up making four more Super Bowls, and winning three of them, including the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history against the Falcons in 2017.

During that time, the Patriots were also mired in scandal, ranging from deflated footballs to one of their star tight ends getting convicted of murder. Just think of this two-week stretch from Jan. 20, 2015 through Feb. 1, 2015: ESPN’s Chris Mortensen publishes his erroneous report about the air pressure in New England’s footballs, effectively beginning the nearly two-year Deflategate saga. Nine days later, Aaron Hernandez’s first murder trial begins in Fall River, just 40 miles from Gillette Stadium. Then on Feb. 1, Brady completes an incredible Super Bowl comeback against the Seahawks, which was sealed when Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson in the end zone. The pick ignited the second wave of the Patriots’ dynasty.

Three years later, Belichick inexplicably benched Butler for Super Bowl LII, the loss that set the dynasty on a downward descent.

Centered around Brady’s last two seasons in Foxboro, the series would also flash back to the first phase of the Patriots dynasty, from 2001-04. Just like with Jordan’s Bulls, there were two waves, though Brady never abruptly retired for a brief minor league baseball career.

In between Patriots runs, there was Spygate, the 18-1 season, and Brady’s life-changing marriage to supermodel Gisele Bundchen. The Patriots were also constantly linked with Donald Trump’s polarizing presidential run, from Brady’s “Make America Great Again Hat” to Belichick’s apparent endorsement letter. The fraught campaign serves as a backdrop to the incredible 2016-17 Super Bowl run. The Trump controversy lingered all the way until the Patriots’ White House visit that April. Earlier that morning, Hernandez, recently exonerated on double-murder charges, committed suicide in his prison cell.

The Patriots never visited the White House again, though Kraft has been on Air Force One and dined at Mar-a-Lago. From the Oval Office, Trump lamented Kraft’s ensnarement in a Florida prostitution ring.

“The Last Dance” also built episodes around some of Jordan’s notable supporting cast members, such as Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. Similarly, “The Patriot Way” could center episodes around Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman. Just like Krause, Belichick brilliantly surrounded Brady with the exact pieces he needed — and colorful characters.

There was no formal declaration the 2019 season would be Brady’s final Patriots campaign, but the signs were there. Usually a full participant in the Patriots’ offseason program, Brady spent each of the last two years spending his time off in Monaco and Costa Rica. Brady’s status was so uncertain entering 2018, some within the Patriots organization weren’t even sure he was going to return, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. That year, those within Brady’s inner-circle were reportedly saying the quarterback wouldn’t have cared if the team just released him.

Brady, for his part, played into the drama. He cryptically ruminated about his football future at the end of “Tom vs. Time,” and pleaded the fifth when asked whether he felt appreciated. While Jordan cut a more forceful persona, Brady has his own ways to get his message across.

The biggest difference between the end of each respective dynasty, of course, is the Patriots lost. The Titans anticlimactically defeated the Patriots in the Wild Card Round, with Brady’s final throw being a pick-six to former teammate Logan Ryan.

“The Last Dance” ends with Chicago’s incredible win over the Jazz in the 1998 NBA Finals, and Jordan’s final minute as a Bull, which may have been the finest of his historic career. With Jordan and Jackson moving on, it made little sense to continue the series.

Conversely, the last chapter of the Patriots dynasty could still be written, with Belichick remaining at the helm. Brady could spark his own Super Bowl run in Tampa Bay, too. He lured Gronkowski out of retirement to join him.

“The Last Dance” is unapologetically Jordan’s documentary, and at this point, history. Meanwhile, the story of Brady-Belichick is more egalitarian, and still evolving.

But what a great series it would make.