A lot has been made of the relationship between Bucs quarterback Tom Brady and former head coach Bruce Arians. But what kind of relationship does the seven-time Super Bowl champion have with his new head coach, Todd Bowles?

Brady, Bowles First Got Acquainted As AFC East Foes

Brady and Bowles didn’t just first meet each other when Brady signed with Tampa Bay in 2020. Bowles coached the Jets from 2015 to 2018, where he faced Brady and the Patriots eight times. Those battles continued when Brady got to Tampa as he went up against a Bowles-led defense.

“We have a great relationship,” Brady said last week. “Obviously, I played against him for a long time too. He’s very detailed. Really tough, hard-nosed coach. A little bit of a throwback. You know, you coach in New York, that toughens you up a lot. You coach with BA for a long time, you coach with [Bill] Parcells, you get toughened up. I think he believes in a certain style of play, which is reflected in the way our defense performs.”

Working Together With The Bucs

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Now that Bowles is making all of the calls for the Bucs, it’s important that the he and his quarterback work hand in hand.

“I think we’ve got to go play great complementary football between what they do defensively and what we do offensively and how the kicking game relates to that,” Brady said. “There’s been a lot of competition throughout OTAs and through [mini] camp. I’ve always loved Todd as a coach. Even when he was coaching against me, I always had a lot of respect for him because every game we played against him, we had to go earn it. It was some new scheme and new design and it was nothing simple. And that’s tough for a quarterback.

“If you can have that ball in the quarterback’s hands and make him question what he’s doing with the ball, I think you’re doing a good job. And I think Todd’s done a great job with that over the years.”

Bowles commented on his relationship with Brady during OTAs. While he didn’t go into specifics, he did say that everyone is on the same page. That may go without saying, but it’s important when it comes to a defensive coach like Bowles working with the offense.

“We’re on the same page,” Bowles said. “We’re in lockstep – we’re in lockstep with Byron [Leftwich] and Clyde [Christensen], so everything’s good.”