Yesterday, by the time I emerged from my lair – – known as Curmudgeon Central – – for the purpose of having some dinner, I had received 5 separate emails all containing some variant of this question:
Does Tom Brady mean it this time?
Obviously, I don’t know the answer to that question, but I hope that he does. His recanting of his retirement last year cost him his family. Obviously, I do not have the competitive fire that Brady must have to do what he has done; but that is a cost that I would not be able to reconcile. On the assumption that Brady maintains his retirement status, I think there are two immediate fallouts and one interesting question:
- Fallout #1: The Bucs have a QB conundrum on their hands. With Brady gone, the only QB on the roster who is signed for 2023 is Kyle Trask who has never taken a snap in an NFL game. At the same time, Brady’s retirement will “cost” the Bucs about $35M in “dead money” against their salary cap so that will hinder their maneuverability in the free agent market.
- Fallout #2: Both Trey Lance and Brock Purdy can relax and focus on their injury rehab regimens without looking over their shoulders to see if rumors of Brady “coming home” to finish out his career in NoCal where it all started have any substance.
- Interesting Question: FOX has Brady under contract for 10 years after he retires and FOX will televise the Super Bowl a week from Sunday. I cannot imagine that the FOX execs would stick Brady in the booth with no training/preparation, but might he be part of the larger programming/presentation?
Bob Molinaro posed this question in the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot a few weeks ago and maybe we will start to see the outcome:
Sneaky suspicion: What do you want to bet that pass rushers will be granted more latitude once Tom Brady isn’t around anymore to protect?
A: Maybe we’ll find out soon enough…
Another NFL event went down yesterday; Sean Payton was hired to be the head coach of the Denver Broncos. To make that hire, the Broncos had to trade for Payton since the Saints had him under contract through the 2024 season. The price that the Saints extracted was a first round pick in 2023 and a second round pick in 2024. Given the haul of draft picks the Broncos sent to Seattle to acquire Russell Wilson last year, Broncos’ fans have to hope that Payton’s offense and his tutelage can elevate Wilson’s level of play starting next season. I think this is an interesting gamble – – sort of like doubling down in blackjack when the dealer shows a face card.
With those two news items leading the way regarding the NFL, an under-the-radar story yesterday was the Houston Texans hiring DeMeco Ryans to be their head coach. Ryans was the “hot coordinator candidate” for a head coaching job this season and his signing with the Texans is a kind of homecoming for him since he began his playing career as a linebacker for the Texans. His entire coaching career has been with the Niners starting in 2017 and culminating in his being the defensive coordinator for the last 2 seasons.
The Niners’ brass also seemed to close the door on the possibility of Jimmy G staying with the team next year. Kyle Shanahan addressed a question about that possibility this way:
“No, I don’t see any scenario of that.”
And that statement leads me to believe that Shanahan and GM John Lynch have a plan in mind for the QB position in SF next year. If I choose to look at the glass half-empty as is my wont, the Niners now have two very green QBs who are injured and who will miss significant off-season time rehabbing significant injuries. Trey Lance does not have enough game experience to say he has even had a cup of coffee in the league yet; Brock Purdy was a great underdog story with his winning streak last season but let me say that his résumé is still a bit thin. The Niners’ defense – even with the departure of defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans – is a top-shelf unit. So …
- Will the Niners stand-pat at QB or are they quietly in the “QB free agent market”?
In the world of college football coaches, there was an interesting story that surfaced earlier this week. An audit by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office of the Athletic Department at LSU discovered that the university accidently over-paid head coach Brian Kelly by $1,001,368 back in May and June of 2022. The overpayment was discovered in November and confirmed in December and arrangements have been made to recover the overpayments. There is no allegation of any sort of nefarious dooings here; it appears to have been a “paperwork error”.
Here is my take on that situation:
- Wouldn’t it be great to be in a situation where your boss overpaid you by $1M and that mistaken overpayment did not jump out as a “WTF moment” as you did whatever financial management you do?
Finally, since I mentioned Brian Kelly’s financial situation here, let me close with this observation by author Dorothy Parker:
“The two most beautiful words in the English language are “check enclosed.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………
I was charged twice by a hotel in Durham, NC recently. When I asked them to correct their mistake I was called a disgruntled guest in the “apology” they offered after several phone calls and email messages. I cannot imagine the kerfuffle $1 million would stir up.
Doug:
How could that have gone unnoticed by Kelly and/or the geniuses he hires to handle his finances?
I once was paid twice by a company I worked for. Like a good Raider fan, I immediately cashed both checks.
It is kind of like when a defense recovers a turnover–and then the offense scores.
TenaciousP:
Cashing both checks is precisely what Al Davis would have done…