Bill Belichick’s surprise appearance on Tom Brady’s “Let’s Go!” podcast featured an outpouring of mutual respect between the two Patriots icons.

It also featured a strong stance from Brady on the neverending debate over which of them deserves more credit for the success of the New England dynasty.

“For me, there’s nobody I’d rather be associated with,” Brady said, via MassLive.com. “From my standpoint, I think it’s always such a stupid conversation to say, ‘Brady vs. Belichick’ because, in my mind, that’s not what a partnership is about. Coach couldn’t play quarterback and I couldn’t coach.

“In my view, people were always trying to pull us apart. I don’t think we ever felt like that with each other. We never were trying to pull each other apart. We actually were always trying to go in the same direction.”

Of course, the relationship between Brady and Belichick soured over their two decades together, and the QB eventually left New England to play his final three NFL seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady, though, said he always respected Belichick and felt the same from his head coach.

“I think that’s one thing I appreciate about Coach Belichick in life: He’s not afraid to have a hard conversation,” Brady said. “We didn’t always agree, but we always respected each other. I know he respected me for the job that I did, and I certainly did the same. I think even when you go away from each other, you respect each other probably that much more. I certainly did because I realized the commitment he was trying to make to get our team to win.”

On the podcast, Belichick called Brady “the greatest player” and said he had “the greatest career,” echoing comments he made in a statement after Brady’s retirement announcement last week.

It remains unclear how the Patriots plan to honor Brady now that his playing days are, but team owner Robert Kraft said he hopes the future Hall of Famer signs a one-day contract to finish his career with New England.

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