It may be hard still for many of us to believe, and say out loud, but Tom Brady is officially a Tampa Bay Buccaneer.
After saying goodbye to the New England Patriots last week after 20 years and six championships, the greatest quarterback to ever play the game chose Tampa Bay as his new home. Some may wonder why he opted for a franchise that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2007 over a team like the Los Angeles Chargers, who at least offer the glitz and glamour of Tinsletown for a celebrity couple like Brady and his wife Gisele.
While the Bucs’ roster certainly offers the best offense for Brady to work with — having guys like Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and O.J. Howard at his disposal — it may be working with the man himself, Bruce Arians, that made Brady’s decision to choose the Bucs a little easier.
In a terrific piece today over at ESPN.com, Seth Wickersham wrote about the split between Brady and the Patriots, and in particular gave an in-depth look at the fractured relationship between Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Wickersham talks about how the Belichickian culture eventually became too much for Brady, who loved what he did but didn’t feel loved or appreciated by his coach.
Arians will offer Brady a fresh start in sunny Florida, and more importantly, Arians feels like the complete opposite of Belichick. While he’s still a straight-shooter and candid coach, he fosters a less restrictive environment than that of Belichick and is more laid back. Remember, Arians dropped several F-bombs almost immediately during his interview for the Arizona Cardinals head coaching job (which he eventually got).
As Wickersham rightly points out, too, Brady’s Instagram post from Friday (seen above) shows a man who looks fresh and full of life. There’s no look of exhaustion like we saw at times from Brady during press conferences last year. He looks as excited as a high-school recruit signing his letter of intent.
Brady looks genuinely happy. And a happy Brady could spell trouble for the rest of the league.
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