Tom Brady’s first offseason as a free agent is fast approaching and his childhood idol has weighed in.
Hall of fame quarterback Joe Montana, known for his time in San Francisco, finished his career coincidentally as a Kansas City Chief.
With it looking more and more likely that Brady is considering a divorce with the Patriots, Montana gave advice to the six-time Super Bowl champion in an interview with Mike Silver.
“Don’t (leave) — if you don’t have to,” Montana said to Silver. ”
Montana continued claiming that it does not matter how experienced you are or what you accomplished, your new teammates are going to expect a seamless transition.
“It’s not easy to go to another team and get accepted, no matter how much success you’ve had and how many years you’ve played,” Montana said to Silver. “They still want to see you come in and be the same player and be that loyal to them as you were to the other team you just left. So, it’s not easy (for) guys looking at that change, especially at the quarterback position.”
The situations between the two quarterbacks are different however. The 49ers were comfortable with Steve Young taking the reins after success while Montana sat with injuries. They had Montana’s successor primed and ready.
Brady on the other hand, has more leverage in his situation as young Jarrett Stidham is still unproven in his limited amount of snaps.
Montana telling Brady to not leave unless he has to really puts things into a realistic perspective for the longtime Patriot.
Does Brady need to leave New England? Absolutely not. Does it make sense for Brady to leave New England? No.
Even Montana who spent his last two years playing at Arrowhead, though guiding the Chiefs to the postseason at 1993, never looked like the same quarterback.
The four-time Super Bowl champion in his move to Kansas City, felt more comfortable because his former quarterbacks coach Paul Hackett was coaching the Chief’s offense.
“I was fortunate because Paul Hackett was there running the offense, and so I was pretty familiar with three-quarters of the offense going in,” Montana said. “If they let (Brady) have his own offense (with a new team). yeah, that makes it a little bit easier. But still, the transition of moving… I just can’t see how they would him leave there, myself.”
Wherever Brady goes, not only will he have to adjust to new teammates, but a whole new head coach and offensive coordinator.
Montana was fortunate to have consistency on the sideline with Hackett. Most likely, Brady will not have that same luxury wherever he goes. It is just not practical and Montana knows it.
