The Tampa Bay Buccaneers developed a bit of a reputation as the Patriots of the South over the past few years due to Tom Brady and other former members of the New England organization signing in Tampa.

A lot of this worked in Tampa's favor, especially when you look at that 2020 Super Bowl, but there are some within the fanbase that worry about moves like that potentially erasing the Buccaneer identity. The Bucs hiring Bill Belichick to be their head coach would absolutely further these beliefs, but that isn't actually on the table right now with Todd Bowles likely to stay put.

However, with two jobs open, there is a chance that Belichick does land in the NFC South, and while this may seem daunting at first glance, the Buccaneers should actually hope this happens.

It may seem crazy to say it out loud, but the Buccaneers should absolutely hope that one of the most celebrated head coaches of all time lands with one of their rivals. The numbers tell us that will make life easier for the Bucs.

Belichick has become one of those figures that is larger than life. The wins. The Super Bowls. The "draft steals." It all paints a picture that reaches immortal proportions, but the hard truth of it all is that the real foundation of that Patriots dynasty was Tom Brady.

Without Brady, Belichick has looked mortal.

Before Brady, Belichick had a career win/loss record of 41 wins and 55 losses. Brady came in, the Patriots dynasty began, and Belichick became a winner and Brady developed his legend. Then the GOAT left for Tampa. What happened then?

Belichick went back to the norm. In the post-Brady era, Belichick had 29 wins and 38 losses. 

Starting to see the pattern?

Without Tom Brady as the starter for his team, Bill Belichick has a career record of 70 wins and 93 losses for a win percentage of 43%. To put that number in context, Todd Bowles' career win percentage is 43%.

All of those years of strange draft and free agent choices look entirely different with context. With Brady, almost every offensive pick works. He places the ball perfectly. Gets rid of the ball immediately. Every offensive deficiency can be covered up with the greatest quarterback of all time, so every offensive decision looked good.

However, those same practices have persisted into the post-Brady era, and now the Patriots look like one of the worst teams in the league due to a terrible offense that isn't getting bailed out by the greatest player in the history of the sport.

None of this is to try to tear down Belichick's legacy, but it is to say that this guy is absolutely not a juggernaut when he doesn't have Brady on his team.  

If the Falcons want to pair their budding offense with a coach that has a multi-decade history of strange roster construction on offense, the Bucs shouldn't lose any sleep over it. The same is even more true for a Panthers team that needs a rebuild from the ground up.

The Buccaneers don't need to worry at all. In fact, a sub-500 coach coming in and slowing one of their biggest rivals on offense for a few years would only help to keep the NFC South firmly in Tampa's hands for a little longer.

Buccaneers played key role in ending greatest NFL dynasty

Without the Bucs, this change wouldn’t have happened yet.