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Clyde Christensen, Tom Brady’s quarterback coach for the last three seasons, revealed in an extensive interview that he recently worried about the 45-year-old future Hall of Famer.
During a conversation with the Tampa Bay Times, Christensen — who retired this offseason following multiple decades in the league — detailed what it was like working with Brady this season as he went through highly-publicized personal struggles.
“Yeah, I worried about him,” Christensen said. “He lost that weight. It was very stressful. And he battled and he hurt, but he put on the brave face and did it again. You’ve got a bunch of folks depending on you. I have an unbelievable respect for what Tom did this year. Off-the-charts amount of respect for him just managing things.”
Christensen then touched on Brady’s abrupt 11-day departure from the Bucs’ training camp before the season started, which happened just a few months before he and ex-wife Giselle Bundchen officially filed for divorce:
“To watch Tom have to leave training camp for 11 days to take care of some personal problems, it was heartbreaking stuff. A divorce. Worrying about his kids. Hard stuff. But then you’re still expected to do your job when you get back. No one cares. And you’ve got a team. You have everyone depending on you. The show goes on,” Christensen said.
“It’s amazing to watch Tom Brady, in the middle of going through all those tough times, somehow keep it in the lane and get to the playoffs and win a division. People don’t see that side of it. Wins and losses are really, really important, but it’s a much bigger picture than that.” [via The Tampa Bay Times]
Despite the noted distractions of his personal life and the difficulties the 8-9 Bucs faced (who clearly looked like an aging team in need of a rebuild this seaso), Brady still played like one of the best quarterbacks in the league this year as he completed 67% of his passes for 4,694 yards, 25 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.
At this time, it remains unclear whether or not Tom Brady will retire or continue to play. One thing that does seem certain is that if he does suit up in the NFL next season, it won’t be for the Tampa Bay Bucs.
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