Instead, Brady’s change of heart was the result of an intriguing tumble of dominoes involving the Miami Dolphins, Sean Payton, Brian Flores’ lawsuit, former Patriots offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger and a Manchester United football game.
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If Brady had his way, he would have managed — and possibly quartered — one of the Patriots division rivals. Instead, a series of unforeseen events brought him back to Tampa.
No one in Brady’s camp took notice of this timeline of events. But it’s pretty easy to connect the dots. A league source close to one of the parties provided insight into the inner dynamics of the situation. Reporting from Ohrnberger, now a radio host in San Diego, and Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio filled in some of the blanks.
This is how it all developed:
▪ Brady decided to leave the Buccaneers for two reasons. One, according to Ohrnberger, was his relationship with Arians. Ohrnberger is a former teammate and close friend of Tampa Bay coaching staff member AQ Shipley.
“The announcement of the retirement wasn’t due to the problems of seeing offensive game planning on an equal footing, but the relationship was sour.” Ohrnberger wrote on Twitter. “Offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and Brady would be working on the week’s game plan. Arians came in later and took the red pen to the work they had done. QB and OC felt undermined, there was tension.”
The other and more important reason was that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered Brady a golden opportunity to break into the NFL business. According to the league source, Brady should be given a senior position in Miami’s front office, similar to Derek Jeter’s previous position with the Miami Marlins. Florio reported Thursday that the Dolphins would introduce Brady as a minority owner in the week leading up to the Super Bowl.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross (left) and his former head coach Brian Flores after a game in 2021. John McCall/Associated Press
Brady has two major connections to dolphins. One of them is the University of Michigan; Brady is its star alumnus, and Ross has his name on his business school. The other is Dolphins minority owner Bruce Beal, who is Brady’s friend and has accompanied Brady on at least one trip to the Kentucky Derby.
Ross desperately wanted Brady — partly to make the Dolphins sizzle, partly to tie it to the Patriots. For Brady, it was an opportunity to get into the business side of the NFL with a goal of one day leading his own ownership group.
▪ That doesn’t mean Brady was done playing football. After all, he just finished second in MVP voting and led the NFL in passing yards and touchdown passes.
The Dolphins’ offer was just Brady’s way of getting out of Tampa. He was signed to the Buccaneers as a player, but they couldn’t stop him from becoming a manager. Once Brady was in Miami and the Buccaneers found a replacement at quarterback, the Dolphins could have approached the Bucs about a trade compensation so Brady could come out of retirement and play quarterback.
“I thought maybe he’d take a year off or something and maybe come back after that,” Rob Gronkowski said on Jimmy Kimmel Live Wednesday night.
▪ Payton, the former Saints coach who resigned on January 25, should also be involved, Florio first reported on February 28. Brady and Payton have been in a relationship in the NFL for over 20 years and they share an agent in Don Ja. Brady was close to joining the Saints in 2020 before Drew Brees decided to return for another year.
According to the league source, if Brady were to manage the Dolphins, he would only do so with an experienced coach he trusted, like Payton. Payton admitted upon retiring from the Saints that he intends to return to training soon.
Former Saints head coach Sean Payton.Adam Hunger/Associated Press
▪ Brady announced his retirement on the morning of February 1st – except he never actually used that word. He said he “will no longer make that commitment to compete”. His choice of words was deliberate.
Just hours later, on Feb. 1, Flores filed his racial discrimination lawsuit against the Dolphins and the NFL, making explosive allegations against Ross that he was attempting to intentionally lose games and manipulate a certain star quarterback.
The lawsuit messed everything up, according to the source. The plan to hire a white coach and white team president without obeying the Rooney Rule probably wouldn’t pan out once the Dolphins were sued for racial discrimination.
Flores’ allegations of fueling and tampering brought up the subject of cell phones and discoveries for Ross and Brady. The lawsuit just brought too much heat into the situation, and Ross and Brady had to call off the agreement.
▪ After his Dolphins plans were blown up, Brady had two choices: remain in retirement without knowing what he would do with his life, or return to football.
The decision was obvious. But Brady had some issues to work out first in Tampa.
On March 12, he traveled to the UK to watch a Manchester United football match. Man U is owned by the Glazer family, who also own the Buccaneers. On March 13, Brady announced that he was returning to the Buccaneers. His announcement came three days before free agency began and allowed the Bucs to use Brady as a recruiting tool.
The final chapter was written on March 30, when the Buccaneers announced that Arians would step down as head coach, making way for Bowles, the team’s defensive coordinator. All other Bucs coaches stayed in place, including Leftwich, who will essentially be the head coach on the offensive side of the ball.
It’s not certain what exactly Brady and the Glazers discussed at the football game. But it doesn’t take a genius to put 2 + 2 together.
▪ Actually, there is one last open matter: Brady’s contract. He’s worth $10.4 million on the books, plus $4.5 million in incentives. The Buccaneers will surely give him a raise. But unless extra years are tacked on, Brady to Miami (or San Francisco) rumors will be heating up again in 2023. If Brady gets extra years, we can safely assume the Glazer family won’t want him playing in another uniform.
Anyway, Brady will be back with the Bucs in 2022, fighting for an eighth Super Bowl ring and becoming the first QB in NFL history to start a game at age 45.
It wasn’t his original plan, but it’s a nice fallback. Buccaneers fans can thank Flore’s lawsuit and a football game across the pond for making it all possible.
Ben Volin can be reached at [email protected].