The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took one of the biggest swings ever when they went after Tom Brady as the missing piece for their franchise.

For those who can't remember, that move wasn't as applauded in the moment as it is now. The Bucs didn't appear to be just a quarterback away, and Brady at his age was a bit of a risk if the Bucs were even able to steal him away.

However, steal him away the Bucs did, and the collapse of the Patriots dynasty began. Now, Belichick is out as the head coach of the Patriots.

Patriots fans were generally split a few years back. Some were of the mind that the "Patriot Way" was due to Bill Belichick. Others argued that the magic came from Tom Brady.

The past few years have shown us that the second group was right.

Tom Brady left the Patriots as a free agent, joined one of the weakest franchises in the entire NFL, and won a Super Bowl in his first year. The following year could've seen a return to the Super Bowl had it not been for a dramatic last second-touchdown by the Rams in a hotly-contested playoff game.

Brady's third and final season wasn't much to write home about, but it is hard to say that he was the problem.

The Patriots under Belichick have been a very different story.

Since Brady left, the Patriots had just one year above .500 and one appearance in the playoffs (lost in the wild card). The Patriots tried to continue the "Patriot Way" without Tom Brady. The end was always inevitable.

In truth, the end of Belichick's time was always going to come very soon after Tom Brady's career came to a close. While many would argue that Belichick was one of the best coaches ever to find obscure talent and cultivate it better than anyone, hindsight makes it look like it was actually Tom Brady dragging inferior offensive talent to the Super Bowl year after year.

Belichick is a dominant defensive mind, but his complete lack of motivation to find and keep offensive talent, especially in the post-Brady era, shows a coach that was used to having a player like Brady that could cover up his deficiencies.

Brady left and found success with the Buccaneers. Belichick stayed and the Patriots regressed each year. The answer has always been clear to the question of who was more important to that franchise.

It may have been a few years ago, but it is more than fair to say that the Buccaneers played a pivotal role in finally bringing down one of the best dynasties in the history of professional sports.

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