The longtime girlfriend of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, Linda Holliday, made a simple Instagram post reflecting on the past year as a time of “growth, gratitude and strength.”

While that seems innocuous enough, one fan responded by saying “Too bad Bill let Tom go!”, referring to superstar quarterback Tom Brady. To recall, TB12 seemed to be a shoo-in to retire with the Patriots, but it was not to be as he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last offseason and picked up right where he left off by leading the team to the NFC Championship game.

In response to the said Instagram comment, Holliday got defensive and played down Brady's contributions to the Buccaneers against the New Orleans Saints.

“And you have all the answers evidently? Tom didn’t score last night… not once! Defense won that game. Were you even watching? OTOH- I’m happy for Tom’s career! Why can’t you be?” Holliday wrote of the former Patriots QB, per NFL reporter Dov Kleiman.

This is a fairly strong response for what seems like a fairly standard barb aimed at Bill Belichick following the Patriots' poor performance in the 2020 season. Holliday, however, was more than willing to hop in and defend her significant other’s role in Brady’s decision to leave New England after over 20 seasons under center in Foxborough.

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Despite Holliday’s statement that Brady didn’t score once, he was actually responsible for all three of the touchdowns that the Bucs scored against the Saints, with two passing and one rushing TDs.

Even though Brady is nearly a full season removed from his tenure in New England, he is still tied to the Patriots franchise–even if just through Instagram comments.