Buccaneers quarterback coach Clyde Christensen retired following Tampa Bay’s wild card round loss to the Cowboys as part of a series of coaching moves triggered by head coach Todd Bowles.
Christensen was not going to be retained by Bowles next season, so he elected to retire. He will collect a salary on the final year of his contract, which is scheduled to expire following next season.
In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Christensen told Rick Stroud a number of stories about the trying season for the Buccaneers, which included a great deal of concern for quarterback Tom Brady.
It’s not that Brady couldn’t still throw the football, in fact Christensen believes he can still play at a high level if he decides to continue with his football career.
“There’s not one practice I watched that I didn’t go tell somebody, ‘How does a guy that age throw a football like that at 45?” Christensen said. “It’s a Picasso.”
Instead, it’s Brady’s personal health and well-being following a trying year that left Christensen concerned.
“To watch Tom have to leave training camp for 11 days to take care of some personal problems, it was heartbreaking stuff,” Christensen said. “A divorce. Worrying about his kids. Hard stuff. But then you’re still expected to do your job when you get back. No one cares. And you’ve got a team. You have everyone depending on you. The show goes on. …Yeah I worried about him. He lost [15 pounds]. It was very stressful. And he battled and he hurt, but he put on a brave face and did it again. You’ve got a bunch of folks depending on you. I have unbelievable respect for what Tom did this year. Off the charts amount of respect for him just managing things.”
With Christensen moving on to the next chapter, questions surround Brady’s football future and what his next chapter could be. Could Brady play for the Bucs again in 2023? Could he move on to his third franchise of his professional career? Or could he finally hang up the cleats for good?
At this point, there are more questions than answers, but Brady’s status will be one of the major stories of the offseason in the NFL.
