While Tom Brady hasn’t retired yet, strongly denying reports a decision is made, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers seem to know what’s coming. In fact, the organization and coaching staff might have already started preparing for life after Brady.
Reports of Brady weighing retirement first surfaced before the Divisional Round. Some of the All-Pro quarterback’s teammates felt like this might be his final season. Following the loss to the Rams, the 44-year-old quarterback hinted that ending his NFL career to spend more time with his family is possible.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington first reported Saturday that Brady is retiring. But the Buccaneers and Brady’s representatives immediately denied the report.
Related: Sports world reacts to Tom Brady retirement rumor
While Brady hasn’t announced his decision and the Buccaneers’ coaching staff stated publicly that nothing is final, Jeremy Fowler reported Sunday on SportsCenter that many in Tampa Bay have braced for this the last two months.
“After asking around yesterday and this morning, the sense I get is that the Bucs knew this was at least a strong possibility for about two months because early in the year Tom Brady was speaking publicly about how he wanted to play multiple years and keep this thing rolling. And then sort of behind the scenes there was a little bit of a shift in tone. As one source told me, he talked an awful lot about his family. As he should, he’s got a beautiful family. And it’s not that he didn’t do that before, but it became clear that he was looking at the bigger picture more, wanting to spend time with his kids. And so it now looks like he’ll have an opportunity to do so.”
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Tampa Bay Buccaneers having a sense Tom Brady would retire, via SportsCenter (H/T Bleacher Report)
Tampa Bay had every reason to be confident in Brady sticking around early in the season. He talked about playing well past his age-45 season, confident he had the talent to play into his late 40s. But he also emphasized the toll his commitment to football has on his family and that a time would come when he needed to step away.
Being around Brady constantly, coaches seemed to take notice of his changing perspective as the season went on. As a result, even before reports first surfaced that he might hang up his clean, Buccaneers’ coordinator Byron Leftwich and Todd Bowles prepared for the coaching cycle knowing there was a real possibility things would be a lot different in Tampa Bay next season.
“The Bucs coaches going through these interview processes, Todd Bowles and Byron Leftwich both coordinators have been up for head coaching jobs, they were doing those discussions knowing that change is possibly or likely coming in Tampa. So this is something that the organization is trying to grapple with right now and make changes for 2022.”
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on how Tom Brady retirement rumors impacted Buccaneers’ coaches
Barring a stunning change of heart, Brady will announce his retirement in February. Once he officially walks away, the NFL will feel very different and the Buccaneers must begin a search for a new quarterback.
