44 year-old Tom. Brady
have to squirm a little bit, just a little bit
as he was as some questions
about some of the things that have happened in his fairly
eventful 2022 off season.
Let's start with a little back and forth. I believe, I ra
Kaufman of Joe. Buck's fan.com was the one who asked
the questions about Tom Brady's
relationship with. Now, former head coach
Bruce, Arians have a
Listen.
Can you clear the air? Maybe on your relationship with
co-chairing ends was it, was there any substantive issues
between you do at the end of the season? Zero whatsoever.
Yeah, he and I have a great relationship and I think
that's,
you know, I'll part of why I chose here was because of Bruce.
I mean, he and I have been
as
incredible communication and,
you know, I have great respect for him and he knows how I feel
about him. That's the most important thing
and I know how he feels about me. So
those reports You found because they didn't portray you and
Anna flattering light, some of those reports. See, I don't
read a lot of them. So
I think part of just,
there's a lot of things that aren't right, that are said.
And I think the thing is, you come out and try to respond to
everything. That's not right, you know?
We don't have to be right, very often,
you know, it's a three, right? Every so often these days. And
I think if people click on it, then you know, you read more of
it and obviously they're clicking on it. So it's what
people want and
what's talked about, it may not be accurate.
Accurate but
that's okay. I mean I don't make every pass either so I'm
going to complete every pass. So
I understand not everyone get it right all the time.
Tom Brady trying to shrug off his concerns or lack thereof
regarding what was said about his role in specifically
engineering, some believe
the ouster of Bruce Arians and I'll go back to the night that
Tom Brady on retired after a 40-day break from football.
I was told the next shoe to fall is Arians will be out as
the head coach. I was never able to nail that down.
But 17 days later,
it nailed itself down,
Aryans was out as the head coach and Shrink before we go
any farther. With what Brady said, yesterday, we have to
keep in mind,
the statement that he had heard last year while appearing on
LeBron. James show the shop. What I say
vs. What I think?
Are two totally different things.
I would say, 90% of what I say is probably not what I'm
thinking,
which is challenging, you know.
And I really admire people that actually can do that and say
what they think because they invite a lot of things into
their life. And I think part of me that doesn't like conflict.
So in the end, I always try to play it super flat. So
with that context, that he gave us
last year,
What you making what he had to say yesterday?
Mike. And I would say, that's probably true with more than
half, I was trying to think of the percentage but I will leave
it at more than half of the NFL players and coaches in this
league. I would say that most times when they talk, they
don't tell the truth.
And on the other hand, I think when you look at Bruce Arians,
I would say he speaks his mind. He is one of those who's going
to be 90% of the time. He probably tells you the truth
and 10%
he Doesn't so I'm very conflicted by this whole thing
about I have so many questions about how this played out
because Aryans is never afraid
to speak his mind.
If truly, there was a rift, why did Aryans leave and not say
anything, why wouldn't he be mad at this point and speak
out? Is it money? That's keeping him
from being forced out and keeping out?
What how did that play out? And when was it, decided when was
Brady told
that it when he was coming back, that Arians was leaving.
That's another question, I have and I would like to ask to.
I don't think that question has been asked to Tom Brady, when
were you told that Bruce Aryan was not coming back as your
head coach? Because as you've written several times,
there was no response from Brady. After he was told
that after Bruce Arians and now said he wasn't coming back. So
how long did it? Tom? Brady know. So I I
think both of these things could be true
that maybe Brady wanted Bruce Arians out, but maybe Bruce
Arians wanted to leave to I think both of those things can
be true.
Well
first on Aryans, I think he has signed on to the narrative that
was crafted for him
so that he could walk away.
On his own terms.
As the champion as the hero, it just doesn't make any sense
that he dog paddled his way
through the bulk of the offseason.
Free agency, scouting, combine.
And then all of a sudden he's out, he would have stayed if
Blaine. Gabbert was his guy,
but he's leaving
when Tom Brady, is there
to maybe give him a shot at the hall of fame and he claims, he
wasn't interested in the Hall of Fame.
Sure. Jan sure. He wasn't interested in Halle. Sure, sure
he's not interested in
winning a second. Super Bowl
and possibly setting himself up
for a bus with a Kangol hat
in Canton. Ohio. Sure. He's not interested in that,
I make that he knew what was happening and he had two
choices,
he could
Stomp his feet and scream and yell and and make it an ugly
departure or he could accept the narrative. That someone
crafted, that made him look like a hero
Like A Champion doing the right thing doing the noble thing.
Handing the Baton to Todd Bowles
at a time when Tom Brady, would be as quarterback and not
Blaine Gabbert, or whoever else, they would have gotten
the other thing, too. Is it relates to Brady?
When Brady says of Aryans? I think that's a part of why
I chose here was because of Bruce
Okay, fine. Then, why weren't you even the slightest bit
upset? The example, I used back at the time, was
what, if Drew Brees a ton retired from the Saints
and then 17 days later. Sean, Payton says, I'm out.
I'd like to think Drew Brees would have been like, what
the hell? I'm back. You're leaving
at least some display of consternation
instead of no big deal. Yeah,
okay. Okay fine. Okay,
come on, come on. So
I
Nothing that was said, yesterday.
Makes me feel any differently
about Brady's role
in
nudging. The piece of ice out of the water with Aryans on it
again informed by his own admission
that in order to avoid conflict 90% of the time he lies about
what he's really thinking Sharia.
Mike, and I do wonder why it took 17 days and you go back to
Bruce, Arians he talked about scouting combine all that he
showed up at the owners meetings, and then left,
and then announced that he was departing the team. So,
that's that whole thing. The way it played out, I just so
weird to me. And again, I would like to know when Brady was
told
that Arians wasn't coming back. And, and I think that's
a legitimate question to ask. Tom, Brady again
probably I'll get the truth since 90% of the time. He says
he's healing gift the truth but I would at least like to pose
that question to him and posed that question
to Bruce Arians and pose that question to Jason light when
what did Brady find out that Bruce Arians was not going to
be his head coach. If and when he came back to the team,
this whole thing is just weird and you know you've seen his
presence at OTAs and everything else is gone on. It's just
a weird thing. The way this is played out. And what happened
and we may never know the truth. Again, it might be
the book that comes out your book. Comes out in
10 years from now that we do find out the truth but I don't
think we're going to find out the truth this season.
The
standard approach I take when it comes to a mystery like this
that could either spring from
conspiracy or incompetence.
I love a good conspiracy but usually the best explanation is
incompetence. I'll say this though it was genius if it was
And that Bruce, Arians would keep his intentions pressed
close to the vest until after the league meetings. Because if
he had left
before everyone in the league gathers in Florida,
for those annual meetings,
maybe some of those answers would have been
obtained. Maybe there would have been an aggressive effort
chatter.
Rumor scuttlebutt ownership is there.
Have a few drinks,
loosen the lips a little bit sink. Some ships, may be
some truth bubbles up.
If people know to go looking for it,
nobody knew to go looking for it it was time perfectly. He
was there and left during the meetings themselves and it was
later that same week
that the announcement was made very calculated. Very
deliberate handed to Sam farmer and Peter King simultaneously.
The release comes 15 minutes later. The press conference is
the next day. It's all very He orchestrated in the delivery.
So why wouldn't it have been orchestrated in the planning
in the timing and avoiding
creating this vacuum of information
and having everyone go to Florida and try to fill it with
facts during those three days that everyone's gathered for
the league meetings? I think it was genius
that they did it. The way they did is confounding because
maybe we could have gotten to some real truth, but they did
it in a way that
made everyone completely unaware that there was any
truth to go find Shireen
Yeah, it's exactly right. Mike because Aaron's there and then
the media availability comes and all of a sudden he's not
there, he's gone.
And so there wasn't that opportunity
to ask him those questions. And if you had gotten that
opportunity, maybe some of the truth would have come out
again. Bruce Arians is never afraid of speaking his mind.
And I think, you know, at some point, maybe he reveals exactly
what went on
and maybe he doesn't, maybe he wants that to seem That's
a great relationship and
maybe it'll become a better relationship. Maybe they'll go
play some golf and bet on some golf and things will be peachy
but I do think there was some conflict. They are whether that
led Bruce Arians to leave and that was the reason that he
left.
I would like to think and hope that the real reason he left is
as he said, was to give Todd Bowles a chance to win
a championship, he's been very good to minority coaches. He's
been very good,
two female coaches.
I'm going to miss that about Bruce Arians. That's
the biggest thing I'm going to miss about him because he has taken
on that role of leadership to help those guys help minority
coaches,
get to where Todd Bowles now is as a second chance, as a head
coach, which a lot of minority coaches, never get that
opportunity. So regardless of how it played out Mike, that's
the good news.
Todd Bowles gets his second chance as a head coach and
a think with this team's, he's going to do a very good job.
Has a chance to win a Bowl
and show that he is a really good coach and I do think he's
a really good coach,
one last Point very quickly before we move on to one of
the other offseason controversies involving Tom Brady, something
you said
just made the light bulb Flash in my brain
Bruce, Arians left the league meetings before
the NFC coaches breakfast which has become less. First and more
press conference,
think of how awkward it would have been
and how weird it would have been.
If he goes to that thing and they ask him a bunch of
questions and he answers them as if he's going to be
the coach, when he knows damn. Well he's not going to be the coach.
It was weird that he was at the scouting combine
answering. All those questions is if he's going to be the coach
and and supposedly supposedly
knew he wasn't going to be the coach. I still think at
the time, he thought he was going to be the coach. What's he
going to say? If the coach is breakfast,
they asked him. Some questions about the draft time. I'm going
to be the coach, so it doesn't matter me. What's he going to
say? So you say nothing, you
Ghost the thing you leave. So
I I think it was I think it was crafted, I think it was
deliberate
and they pulled it off, they pulled it off because
the story never got the traction
that maybe it should have.