The NFL regular season comes to a close this Sunday, and the rumor mill will continue to heat up.
Derek Carr, Jimmy Garoppolo and Tom Brady are the biggest names that have been floated in rumors over the past month. The New York Jets have been linked to the big-name quarterbacks, and Josh McDaniels’ link to the former Patriots quarterbacks has the Las Vegas Raiders in the mix to potentially land one of them. Even New England has been rumored and speculated upon to bring Garoppolo or Brady back.
But one rumor that has NFL fans excited is a partnership between Sean Payton and Brady. The move is unlikely to happen with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Miami Dolphins were caught last offseason trying to orchestrate a potential move and violated NFL tampering rules.
Payton reportedly is building a potential staff if he were to return to coaching, and the FOX Sports analyst addressed the Brady rumors.
“Man, I’ll tell you what. No, there are a number of things that play into Tom’s decision,” Payton told Peter Schrager of FOX Sports and NFL Media in a video posted Saturday. “I can’t speak for Tom. I haven’t talked to Tom. I’m certainly a big fan. … We’ve known each other for years. We both happened to be from the same area in California. Now I was only there for seven years. That’s where he grew up, San Mateo, Calif. He went to high school where my brother went to high school, and it wasn’t until 30 years later, 25 years later that this agent by the name of Don Yee, who represents me and Tom. He introduced us.
“We had a joint practice when I was with the (New York) Giants, Tom’s rookie year with the (New England) Patriots. Tom was coached by the late Dick Rehbein, who was a fantastic coach for us at the Giants, who then went to the Patriots to coach quarterbacks and had a lot to do with getting Tom there as a draft pick. … And so over the years, we’ve always stayed in touch. Never worked together and I think there’s too many variables in that equation. If we worked together Schrags, if there’s a good chance we work together, it’ll be at FOX.”
If a team were to desire Payton’s services, they likely will have to trade one, if not multiple, first-round picks to the New Orleans Saints, who still retain their former head coach’s rights.
Brady remains focused with the Buccaneers and their playoff run, but even with an analyst position at FOX lined up after he retires, it doesn’t appear the future Hall of Famer is ready to call it quits anytime soon and could end his career with Payton on the sideline.
