Brady, who is now a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, a play-by-play analyst for FOX and owns a dog that is a clone of a former pet, may not have a fighting dog on his mind, but he has plenty of notable connections left in New England — and another big one in Seattle.
As a linebacker for the Pats, Vrabel, the current New England head coach, won three Super Bowls as Brady’s teammate.
“I think he just did everything the right way,” Brady said.
Now in his third stop as New England’s offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels spent 11 seasons as Brady’s OC.
“Josh McDaniels, who’s been a great friend of mine, too,” Brady said. “And again, you root for people and you want them to have great performances. … I just want to see good football. I want to see good plays, good throws, good strategy, good decisions.”
And of course, Patriots owner Robert Kraft — who waived a four-year waiting period to enshrine Brady in the team’s Hall of Fame — wore the TB12 in all six of the club’s Super Bowl victories.
There’s also a huge tie with the Seahawks, as Brady’s Raiders are expected to hire Seattle offensive line coach Klint Kubiak as their next head coach.
One would expect the best Patriots player of them all to pull for New England, no matter the time, place or situation. Regardless, Brady has entered a new phase in his football journey.
“I think there’s always different chapters in your life and you have different chapters and moments that you go through where you’re connected to a certain team,” Brady said. “At Michigan, and then I was with the Patriots for 20 years. I was with Tampa for three incredible years. I’ve been in broadcasting. Now I’m the owner of the Raiders. So those memories that I have are forever ingrained in me, and I’m grateful to all the people who worked so hard to help our team succeed.
“And now at a different stage in my life, I really get to cultivate people and the people that I care about, the people that I know the work that goes into what they’re trying to accomplish. So I really want to sit back as a fan and enjoy the game, enjoy the moment.”