Last offseason, there was significant buzz about the San Francisco 49ers' interest in Tom Brady. Brock Purdy had established himself as the team's starting quarterback, and head coach Kyle Shanahan believed no one on the roster could compete with him for the job.
However, Purdy was coming off a devastating injury—a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow—sustained against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game. Shanahan and the 49ers weren't even sure Purdy would be ready for Week 1 of the 2023 season. This uncertainty led to some intrigue about potentially coaxing Brady out of retirement.
While many saw the 49ers' interest in the future Hall of Famer as a slight toward Purdy, Shanahan viewed it as a compliment. The 49ers coach joined Tim Kawakami's podcast, "The TK Show," to explain his thinking behind the Brady intrigue.
Shanahan recalled Brady reaching out after the 2019 season, expressing interest in joining the 49ers. The team was coming off a Super Bowl appearance with Jimmy Garoppolo at the helm, and there was some temptation to consider a quarterback move to Brady.
"To get a call a couple a few weeks after that with Tom Brady wanting to come play for us, that was one of the hardest things I've ever gone through in my life because Tom Brady is the best quarterback to every play," Shanahan commented. "He's who I've watched since day one of when my career started, and that was kind of a dream of mine, and I knew how good he was."
Despite the allure of Brady, the 49ers passed on him due to Garoppolo's youth and recent success. Brady went on to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and win a Super Bowl the following season.
"Watching how that went and stuff, it was tough, and I was like, 'Man, if I ever had a chance again with Tom, that's something I can't pass up,'" Shanahan remarked.
Shanahan believed that next opportunity might have come after Purdy's rookie season, as the quarterback was recovering from a significant injury.
"At the end of the season, when Brock, who we knew was going to be our future, but when he got hurt and no one could guarantee that he was going to be healthy in Week 1, that he'd for sure come back the right way, there was a lot of speculation in it, and no one could guarantee it, I did want to reach out to Tom," Shanahan said.
"Now, Tom was the only guy I was willing to ride in and risk with Brock's injuries. I told Brock that. I said, 'Brock, in these seven games, you've shown us you're not going to be competing with Trey (Lance) next year. If you come back healthy, it is your job. The only way it won't be your job is if Tom Brady decided to come here and play one year.'"
Purdy had only played seven games at that point. Despite the 49ers having invested significant draft capital in Lance, Purdy was considered the top guy heading into the 2023 season, and only one thing could change that.
"The only way that won't happen is if Tom Brady comes for one year," Shanahan reiterated. "And so I kind of looked at it as I was giving him the keys. I was telling him how much and saying, 'There's this one outside chance, but I'm going to be dead honest with you. ... That's the only thing in the back of my head, and probably, there's not a very high percentage that's going to happen.'
"So I felt like he should be leaving the room thinking, man, they believe in me. The only guy he'd even consider is Tom Brady? So I kind of looked at it as a compliment. And Tom was done, so it made it real easy. And once Tom told us that, just started counting the days to when Brock could get healthy. ... Brock did heal up, and he came out and tore it up in training camp, tore it up in Week 1, and had a hell of a year."
