Tom Brady has spoken out about the Carolina Panthers’ firing of former head coach Frank Reich as he warned the NFL franchise that continuity is one of the keys to success in the league.
On this week’s episode of his SiriusXM podcast “Let’s Go!” Brady, who has only played under one head coach in his 23 seasons in the league – Bill Belichick – was asked what instability brings to an NFL team, given that Reich was fired after just 11 games, and didn’t even last a full season in Carolina.
The 45-year-old, seven-time Super Bowl champion said, “I think the most important part of firing and hiring, and all of this is continuity, is the key to the NFL and business.
‘The more continuity you have, the more you can build on things over the years. If you look at football especially, it is difficult to describe the number of situations that arise every week, in a match, the start of the match, the end of quarters, how to use your timeouts, the end of half time , critical third-down situations , critical red zone plays, situational football.”
“All these things need to be built up, these reps in practice, that are talked about over and over again in meetings.”
Tom Brady has likened learning to be a new head coach to learning a new language
The Carolina Panthers fired their former head coach Frank Reich after just eleven games this season
Brady then compared learning a head coach’s playbook and strategies over a full season (18 games) to “trying to learn a language.”
‘What if you had to change languages every year?’ he asked the podcast’s host and sports journalist, Jim Gray. ‘…It’s very difficult to build that consistency and continuity.’
Former Cardinals wide receiver and 2018 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Larry Fitzgerald, who crossed paths with Reich in Arizona in 2012, couldn’t hide his love for his former coach on the show.
“I obviously love Coach Reich,” said the two-time NFL receptions leader (2005, 2016). “He played a big role in my growth when he coached me at receiver at Arizona.
“He’s had some tough years, obviously in Indianapolis and now in Carolina. I didn’t think he would lose his job as quickly as he did, but it is a difficult business and he has an owner there who has very high expectations. You know, it’s sad to see…
“It’s interesting, what you were looking at, where Carolina was last year? They had Steve Wilks in the building. All the players really seemed to like him. They really pushed him to stay there. Mr. Trepper moved to hire Coach Reich, and they are in the same position they were a few months ago.”
Panthers owner David Tepper said Tuesday he wants a head coach for 20-30 years
Chris Tabor has been named interim head coach of the Panthers following Reich’s firing
With Reich as head coach, the Panthers were 1-10, with the team owning the worst record in the league.
Since purchasing the NFL franchise in 2018, Tepper has gone through Ron Rivera, Matt Rhule and Reich. Add in interim coaches Perry Fewell, Steve Wilks and now Chris Tabor. That gives Tepper more coaches than years in charge.
Quarterbacks coach Josh McCown and running backs coach/assistant head coach Duce Staley were also fired Monday after Tabor took over.
“My reputation outside of this game is extreme patience,” Tepper said Tuesday. “I’d like to have someone here for 20 to 30 years.”
The Panthers were coming off an 11-5 season under Rivera when Tepper bought the team in 2018. Over the last five seasons they are 30-63.
“There’s a lot that goes into success on the field, the roster, the schedule and the way you practice,” Tepper said. ‘Obviously we can be better in all phases, because the product on the field is not good enough now.’