Tom Brady Gets Weekly Scouting Reports From A Dishwasher In Ann Arbor

SI.com – Every week, Tom Brady receives an emailed scouting report from a guy who washes dishes for a living. Jay Flannelly jokes that his title is “vice president of cleaning surfaces,” but he doesn’t kid himself. His job description at two Ann Arbor, Mich. restaurants is straightforward: “I’m a dish-washer.” He is also a friend of Brady’s, going back to when Brady was a frustrated backup quarterback at Michigan and Flannelly was a student assistant with the football program. Flannelly was in Brady’s corner back when that corner had plenty of elbow room. When fans ignored Brady at Michigan’s media day in 1998, Flannelly stood next to him the whole time. When Brady was drafted in 2000, an afterthought in the sixth round, Flannelly called him that day and shared his excitement. He believed in Brady, and Brady knew it.

And so now Flannelly, a native New Englander, watches video of the Patriots’ upcoming opponent—the All-22 version, or coach’s cut—every week. Then he sends Brady a scouting report. The dish-washer tells the four-time Super Bowl champion which cornerback is vulnerable to double-moves, what kind of blitzes the coordinator prefers, or how a team’s defensive front is usually aligned. He advises Brady that the defense’s “concepts are pretty consistent” and that a hobbling defensive player “is not right and can be handled.” The emails are only a couple of paragraphs. Brady does not respond at length, but he usually replies, using Flannelly’s childhood nickname, a reference to Leave It To Beaver: “You’ve got it, Beav,” or “Thanks, Beav.”

“If I didn’t send it to him, he would get mad.” The content of the emails is not what matters to Brady. What matters is that Flannelly sends one every week. If he skipped a week, he would be letting up, and in Tom Brady’s world, nobody lets up. Flannelly understands that every Sunday is a challenge, every practice is a grind, and Brady loves that. The rest of us assume the Patriots will be great every year. Brady knows how much work goes into it.

Pretty funny story but I got to be honest it left me wondering more about this Jay Flannelly character. 20 years ago he was a student assistant with the football team and 20 years later he’s a dishwasher? What happened to this guy’s life? Generally the people who are friends with Brady have all made lucrative careers out of being friends with Brady. Will McDonough, his quack nutritionist, his chef, everybody. He has a close circle of friends, but if you earn his trust he makes you rich. Except for Jay Flannelly apparently. This dude has known Brady longer than anybody and is still washing dishes at 40 years old. Listen washing dishes is an honest living, but 20 years and still no promotion? What is going on here? Strange.