In the 40 days Tom Brady was "retired," the G.O.A.T. clearly never let his mind wander far from football. So when the quarterback announced his return to Tampa Bay over the weekend, he immediately had a list of improvements for the coaching staff.
Buccaneers quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen told Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times it was as if Brady was preparing to play the entire time.
"It felt like the morning after we had just lost to the Rams," Christensen said. "He had a list. He said, 'Here's how we can be better.' I think he had been out of retirement 12 hours or so by then.
"The first thing he said was he didn't want to go out that way. He wanted to make sure we do everything to win it all next year."
Christensen said that he was initially surprised by Brady's retirement, given that the announcement came so close to the season ending, and added that he isn't aware if there was a tipping point that pushed TB12 to return.
"I honestly don't know," Christensen said. "I think he couldn't picture himself not playing football. He's a football player. The problem is he's a football player at the top of his game. That's the bottom line."
Brady's unretirement coming on the eve of the NFL's negotiating window opened was calculated. It allowed the Bucs to use the G.O.A.T.'s presence as a recruiting tool to keep several of their key free agents and lure others. Brady helped coaxed center Ryan Jensen to agree to a three-year contract to return. Tampa also hung on to corner Carlton Davis and guard Aaron Stinnie, swung a trade for Patriots guard Shaq Mason and agreed to sign veteran receiver Russell Gage in free agency.
Christensen, who has been the Bucs QB coach since Bruce Arians became the head coach in 2018, said with the 44-year-old Brady returning after leading the NFL in passing, the focus is now on plugging the other holes on the roster.
"I think he will play really, really well again and a lot of it will depend on who is in the surrounding cast," Christensen said of Brady. "There's still a lot of holes. You've got to fill those darn holes. We've got to find a receiver or two. We weren't the same when (Chris Godwin) and (Antonio Brown) went down (with injuries). I think a lot will depend on who is the surrounding cast and what changes are made. Everyone knows we've got to run the ball better.
"We've got to fix some stuff offensively. We've got to fix the run game. That's No. 1. It's all the above. Calling more runs, emphasizing more runs, getting some linemen, getting a back."
