Mark Madden: Patriots dynasty is over unless Tom Brady returns with a couple star players

After nearly two full decades, the New England dynasty is over. (Probably.) That’s the good news.

But the Pittsburgh Steelers never got a signature playoff win against that dynasty. That’s the bad news.

That’s why Steelers fans shouldn’t gloat about New England’s elimination by Tennessee in Saturday’s wild-card playoff round in Foxborough. The Patriots have provided Pittsburgh little besides heartache since New England won its first Super Bowl in 2002.

It’s OK to chuckle about Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel manipulating the clock through judiciously taking penalties Saturday and to laugh at Patriots coach Bill Belichick for blowing his top even though he had previously done the same. The cheater always thinks everybody else cheats.

It’s also OK to think the Patriots dynasty is severely flawed after being caught cheating three times during its span. New England is lucky that football culture sweeps dishonesty under the rug.

But over the last 20 years, the Patriots have reigned over the Steelers with an iron fist. The two franchises aren’t even close.

Tom Brady’s last NFL pass might turn out to be a pick-six. If that’s the case, it’s OK to gloat about that.

But, after Saturday’s loss, Brady said retiring is unlikely. He thanked the Patriots fans for everything, which fueled the rumors that Brady will play elsewhere in 2020. He is a free agent.

There are plenty of reasons for Brady to stay in New England.

But they might be trumped by the fact that Brady idolizes Joe Montana to the degree that it borders on fixation. Montana left San Francisco’s dynasty and played his final two years in Kansas City.

But the situations differ greatly. Montana was run out of San Francisco in 1993 by the emergence of Steve Young. Brady has no competition (or ready successor) at his position because he ran Jimmy Garoppolo out of New England in 2017.

Brady’s rumored destination is the Los Angeles Chargers. Brady lives in L.A. during the offseason.

But why would Brady go to a 5-11 team? The Chargers lost to “Duck” Hodges, for God’s sake. They’re not loaded with weaponry.

Why would the Chargers replace 38-year-old Philip Rivers with 43-year-old Tom Brady? Rivers completed 5.2% more of his passes, threw for 558 more yards and had a slightly higher passer rating. Brady threw one more touchdown and 12 less interceptions. It’s not like Brady was far more brilliant.

The Chargers are moving into a new stadium. Brady would sell some tickets. But would he sell enough to justify paying him $25 million (and probably more)?

Part of Brady’s dominance in New England is playing for a brilliantly administrated franchise, which the Chargers aren’t. Brady has familiarity. He has input. His occasional clashes with management have been insignificant.

If Brady is going to play in 2020, quarterbacking New England makes by far the most sense. Brady has to know that.

So what is he trying to get from New England? What concession, or control?

Brady and Belichick don’t seem close personally. But owner Robert Kraft wouldn’t ditch Belichick to appease Brady, especially at this point in the timeline.

What does Brady want?

Here’s betting he wants Antonio Brown.

Brady sees Brown’s undeniable talent and feels he can fix the problem child. It’s logical to think that Brady, like Patriots fans, considers Brown’s aborted run with New England and wonders what might have been, especially after his receiving corps mostly let him down on the way to one-and-done in the playoffs.

Brown threw fuel on that fire when he tweeted he would only play where Brady plays in 2020.

But Brown tweets a lot of stupidity. He also trolled the Patriots after they lost. What if Brady plays there in 2020, Einstein?

The Patriots’ dynasty is over — unless Brady returns, they sign Brown and Rob Gronkowski comes out of retirement. If that happens, a brief reboot could occur.

Or it could totally implode. That’s the risk with Brown and a 43-year-old quarterback.