Tom Brady may have a hard time winning over the audience, but he will

It's strange that Brady has to overcome his own dominance as a player. But it's real. He's won so much as a player that he's going to have a hard time, at least initially, winning over fans (except for the Patriots and Buccaneers fanbases) who have opposed him for two decades with little to no satisfaction.

But Brady can win them over, and I believe he will. Someday. Maybe even this season. How?

Self-irony is crucial. He must be prepared to make a mockery of himself, and it must be genuine – the false modesty of the rich, famous and attractive does not fool anyone.

I think Brady knows this – it's partly why he's remained popular with his teammates despite achieving unfathomable levels of fame. If he can come across as normal and authentically good-natured, those who want to hate him will be terribly confused when they find themselves enjoying listening to him.

The bigger problem is of course his approach as an analyst. He cannot go into the dressing room like Tony Romo in 2017; this enthusiasm from Brady seems insincere. His strength will be his in-depth knowledge – or as he put it at the end of his playing career: he has “all the answers to the test”.

Nothing he sees from the announcer's booth will confuse him. If he can explain what he sees precisely and with true candor – which he has done in podcasts and other media appearances – his insights will be irresistible. (Similar to Bill Belichick's were during his countless media appearances.)

Back in February, I wrote that if Brady commits to “delivering excellence in broadcasting, he will do so.”

Well, he certainly did.

Last December, I was told that Brady was already practicing commentating on full games. Front Office Sports reported last week that he has, in fact, commentated on 17 practice games (old games on tape) with his broadcast partner, an excellent live commentator. Kevin Burkhardt.

They also commentated on two full preseason games, part of another, and Brady was part of the UFL championship game broadcast.

This is the Brady we know, isn't it? He has already completed a full season of training in preparation for his first season in the locker room. The parallels to the beginning of his playing career are not lost here.

On Sunday at 4.25pm ​​we will get our first chance to find out what he has learned from all that training and preparation and get our first clues as to what kind of broadcaster he will be.

The assumption is that he will be fine now, if perhaps a little awkward, and will be much better by the end of the season.

And here's the fun part: It'll be fun to watch fans in other markets, all these years after their initial daydream of never hearing from Tom Brady again, reluctantly acknowledge that their old nemesis and conqueror is in good company as a sportscaster.

Restructuring behind the scenes

98.5 The Sports Hub's morning program was fundamentally changed at the end of last year when Robbery “Winter hardy” Poole tied together Fred Toucher as co-moderator after Rich Shertenlieb's Departure.

On Wednesday night, the show “Toucher and Hardy” underwent another shakeup, this time behind the scenes: two longtime producers left the show and a personality well known to Boston radio listeners took over the role.

Program Director of Sports Hub Rick Radzik confirmed that Adam Chapmanknown as Adam 12, is the new executive producer of “Toucher and Hardy.” He will also continue to program what remains of fellow Beasley Media-owned Rock 92.9, which moved to Bloomberg Radio with that signal but can still be heard on 92.9 HD2, 106.1 FM, WRCA-AM 1330 and the Rock 92.9 app.

Adam 12's last day as host at 92.9 was September 3. Giving him the role of executive producer on “Toucher & Hardy” – a show he also guest-hosted – was a logical decision since Beasley was already paying him and he is good friends with Toucher and Hardy.

The position of executive producer became vacant when Daniel O’Brien was laid off on Wednesday evening as part of a cost-cutting measure that would have allowed for a seamless recording of Adam 12.

According to several sources familiar with the situation, the plan was to Michael Lockhart — who had been with the show since January 2009, when it was still on WBCN — to stay on as a producer and work with Adam 12.

Lockhart had asked for a raise after Shertenlieb left and was told he would eventually take over the role of lead producer. He was blindsided Thursday when he learned of the Adam 12 plan. Beasley offered him a raise, but it was only a fraction of what he asked for late last year.

Feeling deceived and underestimated – Beasley had fired him in October 2022 but rehired him later that month after Shertenlieb offered to pay his salary – he decided it was time to move on.

Chad Finn can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @GlobeChadFinn.