Two legendary duos look to extend their dynasties this month: Tom Brady and Bill Belichick go for Super Bowl win No. 6, and Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson launch their quest for a record eighth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series title.
Sure, the sports are different. The individuals are even different … to an extent. But what these men have done holds uncanny parallels to one another.
Because the discipline, dedication and the capitalization of clutch moments that crowns an individual “the world’s greatest” never wavers — no matter the sport. Talent goes a long way, but to truly be one of the best, you have to give more than that.
You have to be Supermen.
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In 2002, the Patriots entered Super Bowl XXXVI as an underdog to the St. Louis Rams. Brady was the team’s starting quarterback, but he only initially took over because starter Drew Bledsoe was sidelined with an injury. It was his first season as a starter in the NFL.
The Patriots weren’t expected to win. Brady wasn’t expected to propel the team to victory on the final drive. But they did — and he did.
Thus was the beginning of a dynasty; Brady and Belichick led the team to another Super Bowl win in 2004, then again in 2005. It would take 10 years for the Patriots to hoist another Vince Lombardi Trophy.
During that lull, another dynasty was being formed as 30-year-old, fifth-year driver Johnson won his first championship for Hendrick Motorsports under the guidance of the scrupulous and ambitious Knaus.
The Johnson-Knaus dynasty would reign for five years, as the two dominated the Monster Energy Series, winning a record five consecutive championships from 2006-2010, then adding to the trophy case in 2013 and 2016.
People began to tire of them winning and what was perhaps initial admiration began to turn into dislike for the No. 48 team — akin to the Patriots. But even the strongest haters can’t deny what the No. 48 team and the Patriots have done in their respective sports.
It’s hard to argue with five Super Bowl rings and seven Monster Energy Series championship trophies.
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Tirelessly driven and always looking to beat anything and everyone (even sometimes their own records), Johnson and Knaus’ footprint in motorsports is large and historical.
In 2016, many counted Johnson and the No. 48 team out after a 22-race winless streak heading into the playoffs. They speculated the dynasty was over, that NASCAR’s new playoff format (first put into place in 2015) was keeping Johnson from getting elusive title No.7.
But he did it thanks to a late restart when he pulled away from Kyle Larson for the win — just like Brady has done 42 times in his career when the Patriots were down in the fourth quarter. The only quarterback with more comebacks than that is Peyton Manning with 45 — and the distinctive difference between the two is that Brady isn’t done playing yet.
“I think there are some parallels there,” Johnson said of the Brady comparison. “… Being able to deliver when times are tough, those make-or-break moments, the experience, athletes over 40, really serve an athlete well.”
As athletes like 40-year-old Brady and 42-year-old Johnson cross the “over-the-hill” mark, critics begin to search for cracks in the foundation, speculating, “Are they finally done and washed up?” Part of what makes both of these athletes great is their longevity and ability to defy Mother Nature through dedication to their crafts. They take care of their bodies — both in their physical conditioning and diet — while pushing their own limits. Then, they work to improve what is already great.
“I think over each season of playing or driving, if you’re really committed to your sport, you just reflect and try to bring a better product to the field or the track every year,” Johnson said. “I’ve not met Tom, but we do have mutual friends. His commitment to getting better every year sounds very familiar. It’s something I’ve done through this offseason, just trying to figure out how I can be a better member of this 48 car, looking at everything and anything that I can do.”
But if you give Brady and Johnson credit, you have to give just as much to their right-hand men; Belichick and Knaus.
If Belichick is Brady’s key to success, then Knaus is Johnson’s most powerful weapon — both implementing a culture of winning and the constant thirst for the next accomplishment.
Knaus runs his race team like the military; hard work, structure and dedication are valued among the walls of the No. 48 shop. His single-minded intensity and overwhelming drive to win are perhaps greater than any other crew chief. Belichick also has the same win-at-all-costs mentality; he recently held team workouts outdoors — and emphasized tardiness was still unacceptable — in the midst of Winter Storm Grayson.
Why? Because they had practice that day.
And a game to win.
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Both Johnson and Brady will go down as some of the best athletes in their respective sports, while Belichick and Knaus’ names will forever be etched in history books next to John Wooden and Vince Lombardi.
But where would each athlete be without his coach or crew chief (and vice versa)?
No one knows for sure, but it’s hard to imagine each individual having as much success as they did without the other. Johnson and Knaus — while they often bicker like an old married couple on the in-car radio — are so successful because they have each other to build on one another’s strengths and weaknesses. Same with Brady and Belichick.
There’s often one that will hang it up before another and that’s uncertain for the Patriots. For the No. 48 team that may be Knaus, as Johnson signed a three-year extension last season. Nothing is set yet.
“I feel like crew chiefs have always lived in dog years, and I’m not sure where (Knaus is) going to be,” Johnson said. “I think his contract is up at the end of this year. Of course I want him to push on.
“I keep telling him, ‘Man, I started this with you, I want to finish it with you.’ I’ll try to stretch him as long as I can. I guess I’m trying to subconsciously prepare that he’ll assume a different role at Hendrick, but I really don’t want to let that in.”
Right now, it’s about 2018; for Johnson & Knaus, it’s about obtaining their eighth Monster Energy Series championship when the checkered flag falls at Miami. For Brady-Belichick, it’s about beating the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 4 to win Super Bowl LII.
Because for both parties, it is (and always will be) about winning.