Tom Brady's life coach says Drew Henson was 'best thing to ever happen' to ex-NFL QB - "He was heartbroken"

Tom Brady built the foundations of being the greatest NFL quarterback of all time at the University of Michigan. If not for some competition during his final year at Ann Arbor, he might not have had an insatiable competitive drive to become football’s greatest winner.

Brady's life coach Greg Harden shared during his recent appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show":

“Why was Tom Brady drafted 199th? Well, if he's that good, why was he sharing the limelight with a freshman? If I'm a scout, if I'm going to [a] General Manager, I'm thinking, ‘Yeah, okay. He's nice, but he had to share his senior year with another guy.’

“And he must not be that good. Look, the mindset of Tom Brady, it's the only thing that got him through all that. He was heartbroken, overwhelmed by all of this.”

Most of the time, senior quarterbacks get the nod to start for their college football team. However, that wasn’t the case for Brady during his redshirt senior season. He competed with sensation Drew Henson for the role in the 1998 and 1999 seasons.

Coach Lloyd Carr’s strategy added more fuel to the quarterback controversy. There were games when Carr started with Brady and played Henson in the second quarter before deciding Michigan’s play-caller for the second half.

However, the San Mateo native won the starting job for good after nearly bringing the Wolverines to victory against Michigan State despite a 17-point deficit. Brady ended his collegiate football career with a come-from-behind win over Alabama in the 2000 Orange Bowl.

Harden, who was the student-athlete counselor during Brady’s time in Michigan, added:

“The best thing to ever happen to Tom Brady was Drew Henson… I tell you what, you can quote me on this. Drew Henson was Superman. Tom Brady was Batman. Batman always thinks he can whip Superman's ass. You understand, he always got a little kryptonite in his pouch.

“His mental game is the game... So, he [Brady] trained himself to be so disciplined that no matter what happened, no matter what decision that coaches made, he was going to be steadfast in his quest to be the best.”

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Tom Brady’s consistency drove him to chase excellence constantly

Aside from Tom Brady, Greg Harden has also worked with Desmond Howard, Jalen Rose, and Michael Phelps. He pointed out Super Bowl LI’s outcome as an example of Brady’s consistency.

Harden mentioned that the Atlanta Falcons became inconsistent after thinking they’d won the game with a 28-3 third-quarter lead. However, Brady, a three-time NFL Most Valuable Player, consistently thought the game wasn’t over until the final buzzer.

He willed the New England Patriots to capture their fifth Super Bowl championship in overtime.

Tom Brady won one more Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before retiring for good after the 2022 season. The six-time All-Pro quarterback now focuses on being a dad and an entrepreneur.

Meanwhile, Drew Henson became Michigan’s starter in 2000. However, he left the school before his senior season after signing to play baseball with the New York Yankees.

After a brief Major League Baseball career, he returned to professional football but made the active roster in only three NFL seasons.