David Carr has his own take on the reported power struggle between the three pillars of the New England Patriots dynasty.
Carr, whose brother, Derek, joined the New Orleans Saints on Monday weeks after his release from the Raiders, was a recent guest on the “Harvest Sports Podcast.” During his appearance, Carr discussed why his brother might not have been a good fit with Josh McDaniels, who signed on to be Las Vegas’ head coach last offseason.
The elder Carr claimed that McDaniels wants a quarterback who will take orders and whom he can control during a game. His primary piece of evidence: how McDaniels, Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft co-existed while all four were in New England.
McDaniels — and even Belichick — were powerless against the will and desires of Brady, according to Carr.
“I think what happened, and this is just my opinion,” Carr said. “I don’t speak for anybody in my family. I don’t speak for anybody in New England. I know some people up there, I know some people that were in Las Vegas. I would say what happened is, in New England, Tom Brady ran the show. So, he was able to bully Josh. And he would just say, ‘This is what we’re gonna do.’ If Josh said no, (Brady) would go to Bill’s office. If Bill said no, he would go to Robert Kraft: ‘Trade Jimmy Garoppolo, I don’t need him in here causing a problem.’ Jimmy Garoppolo gets traded, right?
“So, I think that’s what happened. I think that when they were in New England, Tom ran his stuff. Tom is a guy, historically, that gets to the line of scrimmage, picks the play he wants to run. … I think that what Josh wants to do, is Josh feels like — and maybe he’s right, maybe he’s wrong, time will tell — he feels like he can guess right most of the time from the sideline, which is almost impossible to do in this day and age. But Derek does say he’s a smart guy, like he’s a football genius. Like he gets it. So, I think for Josh, he’s gonna get a guy that he can not control, but tell where to throw the ball. That has some physical tools, that can make some plays in the run game, that can push the ball down the field.”
It’s hard to tell whether Carr is engaging in pure speculation or informed speculation. Either way, there are holes in his theory, as evidenced by Brady eventually leaving the Patriots after Belichick refused to give him a long-term contract.
Plus, there are as many reports refuting the Brady-wanted-Garoppolo-gone narrative as there are those that keep it alive.
As for Carr’s thoughts on McDaniels, he might have some inside knowledge given his relationship with Derek. Interestingly, there seems to be a good chance that McDaniels pursues Garoppolo this offseason to fill the Raiders’ hole at quarterback.
Reminder: The Patriots are scheduled to visit Las Vegas next season.
