The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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"It was a turning point in his career," Flan- nelly said. "Lloyd was prepared for him to leave. But Tom came in and said, 'Coach, I'm going to be the best quarterback for Michigan. I'm going to win the job.' Lloyd was like, 'Wow, this kid's got guts.' "It set up the time Tom first met Mr. Kraft [New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft]. He told Mr. Kraft, 'I'm the best decision this organization has ever made.' That became a pretty good prediction." The decision to stay didn't solve every- thing immediately. There was still a job to be won, and in part because of his effort in Columbus, Griese earned it for '97. "Brady and Griese put it all out there," Carr recalled, regarding the practices leading up to the 1997 season. "They were both in great condition. Their competition really stirred our team. Our practices were intense. We had a lot of outstanding players on both sides of the ball. "The way these guys competed really put us in a much better position come fall. As a result of it, we got off to a great start, and we really got better and better. It was the compe- tition at that position, two guys that weren't about to give in, that started it all. "They didn't let their competition divide our team. A lot of times, that happens. There are so many things to admire about both of them, about all of them. We were blessed with some incredible guys." They were blessed with a 12-0, Big Ten championship and national championship season. Griese went out on top of the world, Dreisbach never fully overcame his string of injuries, and Brady remained in waiting. The record books show he went 12-of- 15 passing for 103 yards in 1997. In three seasons with the Wolverines, including his redshirt, he'd tossed 20 passes, completing 15 of them for 129 yards. It's tough to argue the team results in 1997, but competitive fire remains a reality. "The '97 thing pissed Tom off," Flannelly said. "He thought he should have been the quarterback. We don't really talk about that much, because the team worked out pretty well." "I thought he handled it really well," Falk said of Brady. "Brian Griese, that year, was the best quarterback. I'm not the coach or anything, so I don't know about all that stuff — but what more can you say about him? He went 12-0 and won a national championship." Jansen agreed with that line of thinking. "When you look at what Tom has done, you can look back and say he should have been the quarterback," Jansen said. "He's got six Super Bowl rings, he's the greatest quar- terback we've ever seen play in the NFL. "But for that team and that season, Brian was the right choice. He led us to a national championship, the first one in 50 years at Michigan. It worked out for both guys. "At that time, Brian was the right guy to lead us to a national championship." The Next Ring Falk's fame spread when Brady referenced him regarding championship rings in the buildup to a Super Bowl a few years back. Michigan players always asked Falk which of his many Big Ten title rings was his favorite. The inevitable answer: "My best ring is going to be my next ring." Brady adopted the saying, tossing it out to the Super Bowl press corps with attribution to his old equipment manager. Falk, though, was more than the guy who gave out clean uniforms and kept the occasional California frosh from freezing. "Bo always told me, 'Walk around the locker room after practice every night and talk to the players, look at their eyes, and tell me what they're thinking and what their at- titude is," Falk recalled. "That's what I used to do. You learn an awful lot about them. "Tom would always come in and say, 'Hey, Big Jonny, which ring is your best ring?' I'd say, 'Tommy, you know which ring is the best ring. The best ring is going to be the next ring.' "Tommy loved that. He used that all the time." Brady now owned a national champion- ship ring, but he wanted some hardware involving his own efforts behind center. He quickly discovered it wasn't going to be easy. His career as a starter began 0-2. The Wolverines lost at Notre Dame 36-20, then got blown off their own field by a Dono- van McNabb-led Syracuse squad 38-28 in a game not nearly as close as the final score. Brady had waited three full seasons — for this? "When something like that happens, it's never one guy's fault," Jansen opined. "You can't put it all on Tom. The defense is out there, special teams are out there, I could have played better, which in turn maybe would have helped Tom do his job. "It's always going to be a reflection of the team. It's something none of us wanted to go through. To Tom's credit, he battled through it and was a huge part of leading us to a share of the Big Ten title." Flannelly saw that start as only further In his final game for the Wolverines on Jan. 1, 2000, Brady passed for 369 yards and four touch- downs in a 35-34 win over then-No. 5 Alabama in the Orange Bowl. U-M finished the season 10-2 and ranked No. 5 in the country. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 29