After 20 years in New England, Tom Brady only knew the Patriots way. But when he got to Tampa after signing with the Buccaneers in March 2020, Brady was pleasantly surprised to learn things can be better outside of rigid Foxborough.
In an interview with “Good Morning America,” the seven-time Super Bowl champion explained how different it was to go from Bill Belichick’s style of coaching to Bruce Arians’.
“He’s a great motivator – he’s got a great feel for the team – a great pulse for what’s going on in a locker room, great intuition, great evaluation of talent,” Brady said about Arians before reflecting on his two decades with the Patriots.
“When you’re in one place for 20 years, you think that’s the only way, and I think when you go to a different place you realize, ‘wow – there’s another way that people do things.
“You know when you’re at the Patriots, everyone would always come to me and introduce themselves to me because I was kind of the mainstay. But I was the new guy for the first time, you know, and that was a really different experience.”
When Brady left New England, he received criticism for making such a decision so late in his career — even after he brought six Super Bowl titles to the storied franchise. His doubters became his motivators.
“I was always kind of motivated by people that say ‘you can’t do it.’ You know, ‘you’re not good enough, you’re not fast enough, not big enough, you’re not good enough arm,’” Brady told Michael Strahan. “I’ve had a body of work over a period of time, so you know, you just say, hey [and] quickly you forget.
“I think that’s a great part about football. It’s not really about what you did last year, it’s kind of what you’re going to do this year, so for me, it was what I was going to do for the Bucs last year,” Brady said, admitting, “I still feel that way.”
For those thinking Brady’s nearing the end of his extraordinary career, he’s not going anywhere, anytime soon.
“I still want to play,” he said. “I’ve got a little sickness in me that still wants to throw a freaking spiral, you know what I mean?”
Brady explained that “once you stop [playing] you can’t go back and do it. I got some more football in me,” he said. He acknowledged it’s “not a lot, and I know that. But what I got left, I’m going to give him everything I got.”
The NFL icon, who turns 44 in June, has said on a number of occasions that he hopes to play until he’s at least 45. After earning his seventh Super Bowl ring and his fifth Super Bowl MVP this past season with the Bucs, Brady signed a contract extension through the 2022 season.
He’s got his eye on the prize this coming season, and things are looking promising for the Bucs. Tampa Bay is poised to run it back, as all 22 of its offensive and defensive starters are returning for the 2021 season.
