New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady helped convince former San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh to accept a coaching position at University of Michigan, according to a new book by sports inside John Bacon.
According to the Washington Post, “Endzone: The Rise, Fall, and Return of Michigan Football” reveals that Brady, a Michigan Alum, contacted Harbaugh in 2014 as a favor to former team manager Jay Flannelly.
The excerpt reads, “Jay Flannelly, the former team manager turned dishwasher at Pizza House, known as ‘The Beav’ by the former players, knew he could ask Tom Brady for almost anything — except after a loss. The Sunday after the Michigan-Ohio State game, November 30, the Patriots suffered only their third defeat of the season at Green Bay. Flannelly wasn’t going to bother asking a favor after that one.
“But on December 7, the Patriots got back to their winning ways in San Diego, beating the Chargers, 23-14, to go 10-3 on the season.
The Beav sprang into action.
“The Pats won, and Tom played great,” Flannelly told me. “So after the game’s over, I’m e-mailing Tom. I congratulate him on the win. He replies, ‘Hey, we won, we played great.’ Then I ask him to call Harbaugh, and give Tom his number. Tom says, ‘Coach Harbaugh is the kind of guy we need.’”
Pretty interesting stuff.
After an 8-8 season with San Francisco, Harbaugh, who hails from a family of football coaches, announced December 28, 2014 that he was leaving the team.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports