As Tom Brady prepares to join Fox as their lead NFL analyst next season, the former quarterback has a potential mentor in Joe Buck.
With Brady slated to bump Greg Olsen out of the top booth for Fox next season, Bob Costas recently suggested the seven-time Super Bowl champion might be a better fit for the studio. But on the latest episode of The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast, Buck was quick to vouch for Brady being a game analyst.
“When you have somebody with that kind of resume that can put his thoughts and his mind to play after play after play in real time, that has a chance of being really, really special,” Buck said in defense of Brady going to the booth. “The other side of that is, it’s a new job. And it’s a new way of thinking about a game. He’s obviously brilliant, he’s great, he’s beyond a first ballot Hall of Famer. He’s as respected as anybody has ever been in any sport. But now you have to get the mechanics of it. It’s a new situation for him, and I’m anxious to see how he does with all that.
“I know that he’s talked to Troy about it, he’s talked to intermediaries about maybe getting with me and having me help him, which I’m totally open to doing and would love to do.”
Troy Aikman previously acknowledged Brady sought his counsel as he prepares to join Fox next season, and now Buck is offering to similarly serve as a sort of broadcast advisor to the retired quarterback. While Buck lauded Brady’s football acumen, he noted knowledge of the game is about fourth on the list of what makes a good broadcaster.
“It’s what are you looking at, how are you going to present it, how fast can you do it, can you do it before the next snap?” Buck said. “There have been guys that seem to be computer-made to do analysis of an NFL or college game that haven’t been so great. I would never bet against the man. I hope to God he does it. I think it will be fascinating. I think he’ll be great, but you still gotta go do it.”
If Brady really did delay his Fox debut by a year to spend time preparing to call games, there aren’t many better advisors than Buck and Aikman. But it’s also interesting to see Buck and Aikman offering to help Brady in his quest to be great at filling the Fox broadcast booth they sat in for two decades. Maybe Brady can reach out to Greg Olsen for help too.
[The Marchand and Ourand Podcast]
