CHAMPAIGN — Watching Tom Brady pick apart the Atlanta Falcons’ on Feb. 5 during the New England Patriots’ miraculous 34-28 Super Bowl LI victory, Lovie Smith could only sit back and admire.
The Illinois football coach has seen Brady’s excellence on display before. In person and up close. Brady’s first of his five Super Bowl wins came against the St. Louis Rams during Super Bowl XXXVI, in which the Patriots defeated the Rams 20-17 in 2002 when Smith was serving as the Rams’ defensive coordinator.
“I’m a Tom Brady fan,” Smith said. “Whether he’s the best, there’s a lot of great quarterbacks.