Joe Montana Tells Tom Brady to Stay in New England. On an Unrelated Note, Joe Montana is the Wisest Man on Earth
NFL.com - When Joe Montana thinks about the Kansas City Chiefs, the franchise he quarterbacked for the final two seasons of his legendary career, the Hall of Famer feels a strong connection and a deep sense of appreciation.
Yet when he recalls switching teams late in his career -- which Montana did when the San Francisco 49ers traded him to Kansas City in the spring of 1993 -- the four-time Super Bowl champion says it's an experience he wouldn't wish on anyone. And yes, that includes six-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady, who is contemplating a departure from the New England Patriots as he closes in on unrestricted free agency in March.
"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 told me. ... "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."
Asked specifically what advice he'd give Brady, the only player who has surpassed him in Super Bowl MVP awards (four to three), about possibly leaving the Patriots and signing with another team, Montana smiled and said, "Don't -- if you don't have to. It's a process to go through, and it takes time to get used to the team. I was fortunate because (former 49ers quarterbacks coach) Paul Hackett was there running the offense, and so I was pretty familiar with probably three-quarters of the offense going in. And, 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 let him leave there, myself."
Imagine for a moment that you're at a career crossroads. One of your own choosing. And about to make the biggest decision of your professional life. One that will impact your legacy until the end of time itself. And you get advice from the one person in the world who not only is the best comparison to you, has lived the exact same situation. Now, let's imagine that this person we're talking about just happens to be your boyhood hero.
Would you listen to the advice he's giving you?
I'm trying to come up with a way to apply this to my own life. My first boyhood hero was Bruins legend Gerry Cheevers.
My favorite Christmas presents ever were the goalie stick and mask that I carefully marked with black scars every time I took a street hockey ball off it. I have a replica mask on the wall of my sports den that is to my marriage what the leg lamp was to Ralphie Parker's mom and dad, but I'll never part with it. And so, if Cheesie came to me five years ago and told me, let's say, not to leave the Mass. court system to go work for WEEI, I think I'd have listened to him. Like Don Cherry says, if you had to win a game, he's the goalie he'd want on his team. So of course you want him as a life coach.
But he never worked for the state government and then quit to go do sports radio. (And I have no doubt he'd have told me to just go to Barstool full time anyway.) Joe Montana is more qualified to advise Tom Brady on his future than literally any man alive. Because he's lived it. He's the pre-GOAT GOAT with all the championships and all the MVPs who finished with a lesser team than the one he took to the top of the mountain. And he regrets it to this day.
The thing is, by Montana's own admission, he went to a fairly comfortable situation with the Chiefs. He was familiar with the coordinator. He had experience in the system. And still it took him time to get comfortable in the new environment. What's Brady going to do if, like the rumors say, the Chargers are going to sign him now that they've released Phillip Rivers? Move to Los Angeles to learn a whole new offense under Shane Steicher? I don't even know what system he runs, but he's worked under Norv Turner so I imagine it's some descendant of Air Coryell, which is nothing remotely like the Erhardt-Perkins system Brady mastered 20 years ago. The same is true of the Vegas Raiders, since that speculation is out there. Jon Gruden didn't go back to the sidelines from the MNF booth just to NOT use the offense he won a Super Bowl with. So Brady would have to adapt for him, not the other way around. If I didn't have a strict No-Cliche' policy, I'd say something about old GOATs and new tricks. But I'll leave that one for Rick Reilly.
It just makes zero sense for him at the age of 43 to want to start over again, learning a whole new playbook with entirely different calls, reads and nomenclature. And if you're seriously considering it, the best person to listen to is the guy who lived it. Who has walked that mile in your Under Armors. And who just so happens to be the man whose jersey you were wearing while you sat in the stands at Candlestick and saw him complete The Catch to Dwight Clark. He made the same move. In fact, it was somewhat out of his hands because while he was out injured in 1991-2, Steve Young established himself as a future Hall of Famer. And still he regrets leaving San Francisco. So he knows a future of regret awaits Brady if he goes.
Joe Cool: He never threw an interception in a Super Bowl and he put this one right on the money too. Listen to your idol, TB12. On this topic, he's the smartest man on Earth.