The Buccaneers were 'so close' to missing out on Tom Brady in 2020
The rumors of Tom Brady ditching the Buccaneers to play for Sean Payton and the Dolphins in 2022 are ridiculous. But, the idea of a Brady-Payton quarterback-head coach combination isn't out of the realm of reality. In fact, according to ESPN's Jeff Darlington, Brady would've teamed up with Payton and the New Orleans Saints in […]
The rumors of Tom Brady ditching the Buccaneers to play for Sean Payton and the Dolphins in 2022 are ridiculous. But, the idea of a Brady-Payton quarterback-head coach combination isn't out of the realm of reality.
In fact, according to ESPN's Jeff Darlington, Brady would've teamed up with Payton and the New Orleans Saints in 2020 if Drew Brees didn't return for his final season.
"Do I believe that Tom Brady will eventually have a role within the Dolphins organization? I sort of do,” Darlington recently said on 560 Sports’ The Joe Rose Show with Zach Krantz. “But does that mean — were Sean and Tom also thinking and considering the possibility of doing something where he’s playing and Sean is coaching? Yeah, sure. But, things get talked about in this industry all the time, and it is fun to play revisionist history. But guess what? Tom Brady was so close to joining the Saints.
“If Drew Brees had decided not to come back for that final year and say, for instance, go to the Monday Night Football booth instead of coming back for another season, Tom Brady would’ve played for the Saints. And Sean Payton would probably still be there. And we could talk about that ad nauseum, too, but it didn’t happen."
Whew. The idea of Brady playing for the Saints -the Buccaneers' arch rival- is a lot to take in for the Buccaneers and their fans. And it's hard to imagine him not having success in the offense and with Payton as his head coach. This probably wouldn't be much of a talking point if it were any other reporter than Darlington and any other team than the Saints, but alas, here we are.
But things didn't work out that way. And, Brady led the Buccaneers past the Saints in the Divisional Round of the playoffs en route to the franchise's second Super Bowl.
The Saints did receive a small victory out of the deal, however. As a Buc, Brady is 0-4 against New Orleans in the regular season. They've outscored the Buccaneers 117-53 over the course of those games and Brady has a 6-8 touchdown-to-interception mark, as well.
But the Buccaneers got the last laugh after Brady led the Buccaneers past the Saints in the Divisional Round of the 2021 playoffs en route to the franchise's second Super Bowl. He's now set to enter his third season with the Buccaneers and Payton is retired.
It's wild how things work out, right?
You can check out the full interview with Darlington, here.
Featured image via Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
