NFL teams express interest in Brady
Published 7:00 pm Sunday, January 12, 2020
- Photo Credit
LSU passing game coordinator Joe Brady works with LSU wide receiver Jaray Jenkins (83) during warmups before the first half of LSU’s football game against Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday Nov. 9, 2019, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. LSU won 46-41.
Courtesy of The Advocate / BILL FEIG College Football Playoff logo
NEW ORLEANS — A year ago Joe Brady wasn’t even a full-fledged assistant coach. Now he’s reportedly the target of an NFL owner who has proven himself willing to break the bank when it comes to hiring coaches.
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New Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule is interested in hiring Brady as his offensive coordinator, according to media reports.
Brady, who is all of 30 years old, said he hasn’t been contacted by anyone from the NFL as LSU prepares to face Clemson in the College Football Playoff national championship on Monday night.
“To think about anything other than winning a national championship right now, the thought hasn’t even crossed my mind,” Brady said Saturday as LSU took its turn at Media Day. “I’m just excited for Monday. I know, after the season, we’ll figure everything out.”
Brady’s name has repeatedly popped up in connection with various NFL openings. First he was linked to Ravens defensive coordinator Don Martindale, who reportedly wanted to hire Brady as his offensive coordinator in the event that he landed a head coaching gig.
Now the hot rumor is that Rhule and Carolina owner David Tepper are considering Brady to join the Panthers staff.
“I haven’t been contacted by anybody from that standpoint,” Brady said when asked specifically about the reports linking him to Carolina. “(Being an NFL offensive coordinator) is something I haven’t really thought about.”
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Brady worked on the offensive staff of the New Orleans Saints before LSU hired him to serve as passing game coordinator and the team’s wide receivers coach. He won the Broyles Award for his role in turning LSU into a record-setting offense led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow.
LSU head coach Ed Orgeron has repeatedly expressed confidence publicly that the school has a plan in place to keep Brady in Baton Rouge.
“You want guys coming after your coaches,” Orgeron said. “That means you’re doing something right. I believe in Joe, I believe in (LSU AD) Scott Woodward. Scott put a plan in place a long time ago. I do believe that we’re almost finalized with the plan. I do believe that Joe’s going to be a factor, but you know in coaching football, anything can happen.
“But I do believe the talks we’ve had with Joe are very, very positive and he’s going to be at LSU.”
LSU and Brady are in agreement on a contract extension, according to a Sports Illustrated report, but the details of the deal remain in flux. The extension would reportedly protect LSU from Brady taking another college job, but parameters are flexible in regards to the NFL.
Brady is making $410,000 in the first year of his three-year, $1.3 million deal. He is the seventh-highest paid assistant on Orgeron’s staff.
• GO MODE: Right guard Damien Lewis is expected to play in the national championship game after returning to practice this week, Orgeron said.
Lewis was spotted in a walking boot after sustaining a lower-leg injury in the Peach Bowl. The injury appeared serious at the time, but the senior said there was no chance he was going to let it keep him out of the title game.
“I was ready to get back in the next series when I got hurt, but we were beating them up real bad, so I just stayed out,” Lewis said. “Everything is normal and ready to go. I’m on go mode.”
The senior has made 27 consecutive starts at right guard since signing with LSU out of Northwest Mississippi Community College. He’s one of the leaders along an offensive line that transformed into one of the nation’s best this season.
• HOMECOMING: It’s all coming full circle for LSU safety Grant Delpit.
The Jim Thorpe Award winner was born in New Orleans, but his family was forced to move to Houston in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Now Delpit returns to his hometown looking to help LSU wrap up a national championship.
“I’ve definitely thought about that,” Delpit said. “It’s kind of gone full circle. Me being born and raised in New Orleans, leaving because of Katrina and seeing those pictures of the Superdome … seeing the people staying in the Superdome and the place falling apart.
“It’s been a long time since we could do something for Louisiana and bring something meaningful to this state. Hopefully we can get that done.”
• FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Orgeron was asked about all kinds of things during his stint on the podium on Media Day, but one particular question hit near and dear to his Cajun heart.
It was about gumbo — specifically, if Orgeron had a favorite kind.
“That’s hard,” Orgeron said. “I like eggs in my gumbo with seafood. Not a lot of people put eggs in their gumbo. I like eggs in my gumbo and if I had preference, it would be chicken and sausage, but seafood is a close, close second.”
• DOME FIELD ADVANTAGE? The national championship game is theoretically played at a neutral site. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney would beg to differ after spending some time in the Big Easy.
Such is life when you draw LSU in New Orleans.
“I think we’re the only one that took a plane here,” Swinney joked. “So yeah, this is definitely a road game … It just worked out that way, and I mean, you don’t know these things in advance, but I think it’s really cool for LSU. How cool is that, for them to be able to just hop on a bus and ride up the road 40 minutes or so? It would be like us playing for the national championship in Greenville, literally.”