With questions at quarterback before Brock Purdy stabilized things in 2023 for the San Francisco 49ers, head coach Kyle Shanahan pursued Tom Brady for a potential one-year run to try to win a Super Bowl before turning things back over to Purdy. Shanahan was confident that pursuing Brady would not be a blow to Purdy's confidence.
“It wasn't a hard conversation for me with Brock,” Kyle Shanahan said, via Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. “You have to ask (Purdy) about it. It's not always the best thing you want to hear. but I looked at it as a huge compliment. You know, after the 2019 season, that was Jimmy's first year as a starter in his career, and he did some really good things. And we almost won a Super Bowl. And he was a young quarterback we had only played with one year.”
Shanahan went on to reveal that Tom Brady called the 49ers to see if they had an interest in signing him when he left the New England Patriots in free agency. Ultimately, the implications of reuniting Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo in a quarterback room caused Shanahan to decide against it. Brady ultimately signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and won a Super Bowl in 2020.
“To get a call a few weeks after that (from) Tom Brady wanting to come play for us, that was one of the hardest things I've ever gone through,” Shanahan said, via Kawakami. “Because Tom Brady is the best quarterback to ever play. He's who I've watched since Day 1 of when my career started. And that was kind of a dream of mine. But I also know we had a very young quarterback who had got us that far. And to sit and risk that young quarterback, I just kept thinking like, what if he comes in at that age (Brady was 42), pulls a hamstring, and now I've messed up Jimmy? So it wasn't a fun decision. But we had to stick with Jimmy at the time.”
What Kyle Shanahan told Brock Purdy regarding Tom Brady
Kyle Shanahan was upfront with Purdy about the 49ers' interest in Brady coming off of 2023, as Purdy was dealing with an elbow injury.
“I felt very good when I told (Purdy), ‘Hey, I know we spent a lot of picks to go get Trey (Lance),” Shanahan said, via Kawakami. “I know you've only played seven games. You have a bad injury. But we believe you re a guy for the future. The only way that won't happen is that Tom Brady comes for one year.' And so I kind of looked at it as I was giving him the keys.”
Brady opted to not join the 49ers, and Purdy became the full-time starter for the 49ers. They made it to the Super Bowl and lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Kansas City Chiefs again. They hope to reach the mountaintop this season.
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