Brady On McDaniels: 'He's One Of My Best Buds'
BOSTON (CBS) - With rumors swirling around Josh McDaniels and the vacant head coaching job of the Cleveland Browns, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was asked about potentially losing another offensive coordinator.
Head coach Bill Belichick didn't have much to say when he was asked about the topic on Tuesday, but Brady was a little more open after the Patriots' practice session on Wednesday.
"I'm not surprised by much anymore in the NFL," Brady said. "He's a great coach. I said the other day, he's one of my best buds. I've been around for a long time. I know him pretty well. I'm glad he's my coach."
"It's a credit to those guys and what they've accomplished," said Brady, who lost McDaniels to the bright lights of head coaching back in 2009 when he took the vacancy with the Denver Broncos. "It's a very flattering thing when other people are interested. They'll make their decision based on whatever they make their decision based on."
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While Brady would prefer McDaniels to stick around, he's just focused on doing his job with the playoffs set to get underway.
"I still have to go out there and do my job, which is ultimately what I owe this team and what I signed up for, and what I promised Mr. Kraft when I signed my contract and what I commit to Belichick and all my teammates – that I'm going to try to do the best I can do," he said. "It doesn't matter who's coaching, who's running routes, who I'm handing the ball off to, who's blocking, who's playing defense, I have to go do my job. That's what my focus is."
McDaniels returned to the Patriots in 2011 after then-New England offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien agreed to become the head coach at Penn State. O'Brien coached the Nittany Lions for two successful seasons before agreeing to become the new head coach of the Houston Texans on Tuesday night.
Brady was asked about O'Brien's new job and the relationship he had with the coach during his time in New England, but the quarterback chose to stay focused on the Patriots.
"That was a long time ago," he said of O'Brien. "Truthfully, I'm just trying to stay focused on this week. That's really not in my thought process right now."
