The GOAT and the GOAT Herder: How Ed Reed Haunted Brady and Belichick

As arguably the greatest quarterback–head coach duo in NFL history, few players could truly disrupt the offensive brilliance of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick at their peak with the New England Patriots. Together, they amassed six Super Bowl titles, nine Super Bowl appearances (the most by any QB–coach pairing), and 17 division championships, including an NFL-record 11 consecutive AFC East crowns during their reign from 2001 to 2019. Their list of accolades is as long as it is historic—enough to fill entire volumes. Yet, amid all their dominance, one opposing player consistently earned their full attention: Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed of the Baltimore Ravens.

Tom Brady has never been shy about praising Ed Reed as one of the most formidable opponents he’s ever faced. Ahead of a 2012 regular season matchup against the Ravens, Brady remarked, “He’s pretty much ingrained permanently in my mind. He’s such a playmaker for them, and he shows up in a lot of different spots.” Reflecting on Reed’s impact over the years, Brady added, “You had to know where Ed Reed was on every single play… He would bait quarterbacks into throws and then make you pay.” Perhaps his highest compliment came when he declared, “Ed Reed is the best safety I’ve ever played against.”

Bill Belichick has echoed Brady’s sentiments, often highlighting how uniquely challenging it was to scheme against Ed Reed — a level of praise he rarely gives to individual players. In documentaries like NFL Films’ “A Football Life: Ed Reed” and “A Football Life: Bill Belichick,” Belichick emphasized Reed’s rare combination of instinct, intelligence, and playmaking ability, noting how he could disrupt even the most well-prepared game plans.

Ed Reed considers the praise from two of the greatest figures in NFL history to be the highest honor—though he couldn’t resist adding a sly twist. “They call him the GOAT, right? So I guess that makes me a GOAT herder,” Reed joked. “I mean, he wrote my name on his call sheet on his wrist. How many players did he do that for?” he said, referencing the fact that Tom Brady would go so far as to write “Look out for #20” on his play sleeve before facing the Ravens.

Reed then added more serious adulation for Brady and Belichick, stating that the admiration was mutual and he was happy to have the duo push him to his limits and bring out the best of his ability. “I appreciate Belichick and Brady studying me like that, because I studied them like that… They were some of the best to go against. They pushed the envelope on the field in terms of knowledge… I appreciate that… They brought the best out of you.”

These days, Reed is applying his football intelligence and acumen to coaching. He joined the Buffalo Bills in 2016 as an assistant defensive back coach for a year and also spent three seasons in a support staff role with the Miami Hurricanes football program. More recently in January 2025 he became the head offensive coordinator of the Chamblee Charter High School football team in Chamblee, Georgia to help coach his son, two-way starter Edward Reed.

Do you like how Ed Reed haunted Brady and Belichick, one of the few individual defensive players in the NFL to have done so? What do you think of the mutual respect between these three all-time greats? Let us know in the comments.