Tom Brady was a no-show on Thursday. Here’s to hoping he doesn’t ruin the Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl.

NEW ORLEANS — Another Eagles Super Bowl, and what do you know? Once again, Tom Brady wasn’t there in the end.

The greatest quarterback in NFL history/minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders/loser of Super Bowl LII to Nick Foles was supposed to be here Thursday afternoon to speak in-person about that ancillary role of his: color analyst on Fox. The network held its media day at the New Orleans Convention Center, and while Fox’s pregame-show analysts and hosts were happy to answer questions about the Eagles and the Chiefs and what to expect during the big game, Brady was a ghost. He didn’t attend the event.

Now, in fairness, the rest of the crew calling Super Bowl LIX for Fox — Kevin Burkhardt, Erin Andrews, and Tom Rinaldi — didn’t attend it, either. But then, if Fox wanted to keep Brady away from anyone who might ask a question or two that might be a little uncomfortable for him to answer, the best and least conspicuous way to do it would be to have three other people sit out the event, too. Even if those three other people are among the friendliest and most accessible people in sports media. Which those three other people are. But on Thursday, they and Brady happened to be tied up with “production timing issues,” according to Fox.

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Hey, bad luck, I guess. A shame, too, because there would have been lots of questions to ask Brady, uncomfortable and otherwise. Questions about that Eagles-Patriots matchup back in 2018 — the last Super Bowl that Brady lost. Questions about the 10-year, $375 million contract Fox gave him before he’d accumulated a minute of broadcasting experience. About his obvious conflict of interest in owning part of the Raiders and calling games for Fox. About the “Brady Rules” that the NFL established for him this season because of that conflict of interest.

And those rules were doozies. One would think that, when you analyze NFL games for a major television or streaming network, you’d want to attend production meetings, watch practices, visit a team’s facility to talk to players and coaches, or criticize any referee who screws up a call during a game. Brady wasn’t allowed to do any of those things. Of course he wasn’t. He might use the access and information to help the Raiders, and as a part-owner, he couldn’t weigh in on game officials’ decisions and rulings — it would seem an attempt to influence them. But he was still allowed to call games, even though he had never called games before.

He addressed some of these issues during a conference call with about 20 reporters on Wednesday. “There’s been such a learning curve,” he said, “and it’s just been an awesome journey for me being with the best teammates in the world. And I loved every minute of certainly what we’re doing when we’re on air.” Immediately after that conference call, Fox pulled Brady from Thursday’s event, a move that suggests the network’s execs understand the reality of Brady’s brief time there: His learning curve has been more like a learning line.

Former Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, whom Fox hired as an analyst in 2017, said Thursday that it took him two years of training before he felt comfortable in front of a camera. “It was a process for me going from being a quarterback, being asked questions, to having to entertain an audience,” he said. Yet eight months after he was behind the mic for the first time for Fox — for a United Football League game — and five months after his first NFL broadcast, Brady is about to call the Super Bowl. Apparently he didn’t need all that training. Maybe that’s why he got the $375 million. He’s just that good.

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If you’ve listened to a Brady telecast, you know: He’s not that good. His voice cracks like that of a boy at the dawn of pubescence. He referred to the Eagles as “the Phillies” during a playoff game last month and to Eagles kicker Jake Elliott as “David Akers” during the team’s victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in December. Brady has shown all the signs of a guy who was handed a plum job without having paid his dues first, and it’ll be a minor miracle if he doesn’t mar what should be a terrific game with several great storylines — a potential Chiefs three-peat, Saquon Barkley’s remarkable season, Patrick Mahomes vs. Vic Fangio, Jalen Hurts vs. his doubters — with a blunder at a critical moment.

Have to say, though, I am curious about one possible scenario: What happens if Brandon Graham picks up a late sack to save the game for the Eagles? It might be the first time a Super Bowl broadcaster passes out from post-traumatic stress.