Joe Montana Says He's 'Shocked' Tom Brady Left NE, He Wasn't Happy, and He Wanted More Input. Which is Old News.
This interview with Joe Montana is trending on my Twitter, making the rounds on the Patriots sites and otherwise echoing across the internet as such things do. Because the undisputed Pre-2001 GOAT has this to say about the One True GOAT:
“Honestly, I was shocked they let him get out of New England. I would have thought they would have done everything they could to try to keep him there.
“I spoke to Tom while we were at the Super Bowl. I don’t think he was happy with the way things were progressing there and his ability to have input. I think that was a big decision for him to make, to leave there. Obviously, it’s a place he’s had a ton of success at. Going to another team, he chose a pretty good one, I think.”
Which, while interesting, is hardly newsworthy since the Super Bowl was six and a half months ago and he said very much the same thing back in March:
“It’s not about appreciation,” Montana said, dismissing one of the prevailing theories. “He wants control. I mean, he wants a lot of control. …
"I don’t know exactly what he’s looking for, but my understanding was that he’s just looking for more control of the offense. But I don’t know. I haven’t had a long conversation with him; I talked to him a little bit at the Super Bowl, but not enough time to really get in-depth.”
So while I'm a big Joe Cool guy, he's been dining out on that brief chat he and Brady had more than he has The Chicken Soup Game. And the only new wrinkle is Montana saying he's "shocked they let him get out of New England." Because if it's control Brady wanted - not just control but "a lot of control" - that's a non-starter right there. Non-negotiable. Hard stop. End of discussion.
Input is one thing. Brady always got that. We've seen it (cued up to the 25:37 mark):
But "control"? As in what? Designing the game plans? Making personnel decisions? Deciding who gets the playing time? That was never going to happen after 20 years of success. If that was the price of Brady staying - which is what Montana seems to be suggesting, then there's nothing to be shocked about. That's an invitation for HR to give you your exit interview. Thanks for your service. I don't want to take up any more of your time. I'm sure you'll want to get going.
I think Montana spoke much better on this issue back before the season even ended, when he said Brady shouldn't leave New England.
Asked specifically what advice he'd give Brady, the only player who has surpassed him in Super Bowl MVP awards (four to three), about possibly leaving the Patriots and signing with another team, Montana smiled and said, "Don't -- if you don't have to. It's a process to go through, and it takes time to get used to the team."
Spoken like someone who left a successful franchise for a less successful one. And in Joe's case, it's not like he had the option of staying in San Francisco as their starter. By the time it ended for him, he'd been replaced. He lost his job to Steve Young due to injury, but make no mistake he had lost his job. Young was an MVP and options were the same as Khan's: to serve in Heaven or rule in Hell. He chose Kansas City. Brady could've re-signed with the Pats as their QB1, but with the same input he'd always had. He wanted more. No hard feelings. But also no feelings of "shock" either. Since, according to Montana, he was asking for the one thing he had to know he would never get in Foxboro. Brady had to go to Tampa to tell a team how to run its offense.