October 1 Updates
Former Buccaneer (and yes, Patriot) great returned to Raymond James Stadium in a new capacity last Sunday, as he called his first game in Tampa Bay as a color analyst on Fox's lead broadcasting team. Prior to the game, Brady traveled from the booth down to the field and caught up with a number of his old Buccaneer acquaintances, from Jason Licht to Mike Evans to Lavonte David.
Brady also took some time to talk with Buccaneers Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen, who was not with the team during the quarterback's three seasons in Tampa. Coen and Brady hadn't crossed paths as professionals, but this actually wasn't the first time they had met. That was 17 years ago, when Brady was in the midst of one the greatest seasons of his career. Coen was 22 at the time and a quarterback at the University of Massachusetts, not coincidentally wearning jersey #12.
"I met him in 2007," said Coen. "They played a playoff game against Jacksonville, won the game. I was there at the game and I was with the running backs coach for the Patriots' son, Ivan Fears's son. He took me downstairs; I got to shake his hand. There's no shot he remembered that, but I did, obviously. I grew up going to Patriots games. That's where I grew up. I grew up going to Patriots training camp at Bryant College. I emulated him my entire life. I wore 12 because of him. So that was a really cool moment [on Sunday] to be able to pick his brain, just talk football with him. That was probably something I'll never forget."
Brady threw a career-high 50 touchdown passes in the 2007 season; meanwhile, Coen was putting up the sort of numbers that would eventually land him in the UMass Athletics Hall of Fame. Both have since moved on to new pursuits and both in the very early stages of their current jobs. For Coen, to have perhaps his best game as a play-caller since joining the Buccaneers, as his offense racked up 445 yards and 33 points in a lopsided victory, with Brady in attendance was special.
"That helped," he said with a laugh. "That helps when you're successful and you have a good game. One of the guys you grew up idolizing happened to be a part of that game, from calling it, from that standpoint. That was pretty cool day that, like I said, I'll never forget."
CLICK HERE to hear from Baker Mayfield about working with Liam Coen.
