MOBILE, Ala. — The news that Tom Brady was retiring from football — for real — Wednesday dropped about 15 minutes into Senior Bowl media day. This meant many of the people made available to reporters learned of Brady’s league landscape-altering decision when reporters asked them for their reaction.
Tom Brady’s Retirement Reaction From Senior Bowl
“I didn’t even know he was retiring,” said Luke Getsy, the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator serving as the American Team’s head coach this week. “He kicked my butt a few times, but that’s pretty much everybody. He’s one of the best ever.”
Brady won two of three career meetings against Getsy-coached teams, with both wins coming in 2020 when Brady played for the Buccaneers and Getsy was an assistant for the Packers.
Brady’s stats in those three games: 59 of 98 for 691 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions.
Getsy’s National Team counterpart, Patrick Graham, has a different, far more personal perspective on Brady.
He’s both worked with him and coached against him. Graham spent the first seven years of his NFL career on Bill Belichick’s staff in New England. He was also the defensive coordinator for the Dolphins in 2019, the Giants from 2020 through 2021, and then most recently, in Las Vegas.
In games where Brady started at quarterback and Graham was the opposing defensive coordinator, Brady went 3-1, outscoring Graham’s teams by a combined 62 points. Brady’s passer rating in those four games: 100.9.
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“Tom, I just loved watching Tom play football,” Graham said Wednesday. “Just having been there for seven years with him in New England. I didn’t see anything about the announcement, but I just know he’s the best football player I’ve ever been around in terms of competitive spirit. Great guy.
“I still remember the first day I met him, the first day I met him when I was a quality control coach in New England, and it was probably like January or February. I was over there riding the bike; I had my hoodie on. And then all of the sudden, someone taps me, and I look up, and it’s Tom Brady. He’s like, ‘Hey, I’m Tom.’ I don’t even think I said my name; I was so nervous. But he’s great, he’s great.”
Meanwhile, Shepherd University quarterback Tyson Bagent has never and will never get the chance to face Brady.
But that doesn’t mean the seven-time Super Bowl champion hasn’t had a major impact on the college football career touchdown record-holder.
“I have a Tom Brady poster in my apartment back home,” Bagent said. “He definitely has risen the standard of what it means to be a quarterback and what a quarterback is capable of doing. I think him being a late-round pick, being to do everything he did, just shows what you can do [if you master] … the mental part of the game. Nothing’s too big to overcome.
“He’s got so many rings, so much success. Definitely set the standard for quarterback play. Huge fan.”