Tom Brady isn't walking through that door to save the New England Patriots' season. He still has a podcast, though, which means the retired quarterback is free to comment on his former team's struggles.
On the latest episode of Brady's "Let's Go!" podcast, co-host Jim Gray asked ex-Patriots QB for his thoughts on New England's 38-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium, the largest defeat of Bill Belichick's 29-year head coaching career.
Brady responded with a very diplomatic answer.
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"It’s tough. I mean, losing in the NFL’s tough,” Brady told Gray. “For me watching a lot of football, every loss hurts. And believe me, if you’re part of a loss you don’t care about anyone else’s losses. You just care about your loss. If you win you look around and go, ‘All right, who else lost?’
"So, in every building with a loss, it’s tough. It’s tough because you spent all week preparing and it didn’t go the way you wanted. So, it’s just that football is a tough sport. It’s brutally tough."
While Brady never suffered a 35-point loss during his 20 seasons with the Patriots, he actually can relate to Belichick, Mac Jones and the 2023 squad: The seven-time Super Bowl champion lost 38-3 to the New Orleans Saints as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020.
Those Bucs went on to win the Super Bowl, but the outlook seems much bleaker for these Patriots, who are 1-3 on the season and 26-29 (including playoffs) since Brady's departure in March 2020.
We wouldn't blame Brady for having a little schadenfreude watching the Patriots fall flat from afar Sunday -- although he does seem to be on better terms with the organization after being honored at Gillette Stadium during New England's season opener.
Brady did admit it's hard being a purely passive observer from his living room.
“When I was in it, I didn’t necessarily realize it because I had a lot of control," Brady added. "I was the one behind the center. I had a very big impact on every single game. I have zero impact on any games [now].
"So, I just watch. And it’s a hard thing because some things you just want to pull your hair out and go, ‘What the f--- is going on here?’”
Brady is expected to join FOX Sports' broadcast booth as a lead NFL analyst in 2024, and it will be interesting to hear how candid he is discussing the Patriots' on-field struggles should they continue in Year 4 post-Brady.