Were you stunned that Tom Brady actually left New England and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week? If so, you’re hardly alone. And now, another legendary quarterback who made a similar move nearly three decades ago say’s he’s just as shocked as you or I.
Joe Montana, the Hall of Fame quarterback and owner of four Super Bowl rings with the San Francisco 49ers exited after the 1992 season and played two more in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs. Montana commented to the USA TODAY about Brady’s departure.
“I don’t know what’s going on inside there, but somebody made a mistake,” Montana told USA TODAY Sports.
“I think when you look at the whole situation, you try to figure out how you want to get away from things that are there,” Montana, 63, said from his Northern California home during a phone interview. “I had a different story, where they had made a decision. He, obviously, they never would have gotten rid of. I still don’t understand how New England let him get away. I don’t understand that.”
I get what Montana is saying, especially when you consider that New England doesn’t currently appear to currently have a viable option at the position like the 49ers did with Steve Young when they let Montana walk.
To me it’s about egos and eventually they end this way. Growing up a Chicago Bulls fan I recall how that dynasty came apart. General manager Jerry Krause made a comment years earlier about “organizations winning championships, not players” and it ticked off a couple of stars by the names of Jordan and Pippen. Krause thought he could rebuild another championship caliber team while the players thought the six championships were all their and head coach Phil Jackson’s doing.
Eventually they went their separate ways, Jordan retiring a second time before returning to the Washington Wizards a few years later. Pippen forced a trade to Portland and helped them on some very good, but never championship level squads. And Phil Jackson exited, only to resurface a few years later in Los Angeles and helped the Lakers build a three-peat champion.
So who is in the right here?
Can the answer be nobody?
I’m not one to think this ends well for any of the parties. Brady looked old last year and I know we’ve all said that before but his numbers reflected that more-so than ever.
The Patriots simply weren’t as good, even with an outstanding pass defense. I know it’s next to impossible to always be Super Bowl caliber but they were a clear step behind a few AFC squads last season, something you haven’t said about them in probably 20 years.
Brady and Belichick are both probably the best to do what they both do, but both don’t scale the mountains they did for as long as they did without each other.
It’s a shame Brady didn’t get a John Elway-type exit from football but maybe just maybe he’ll turn the tide of a franchise that’s the owner of one of the sadder histories in the history of the league.