Skip to Search Skip to Live Player Skip to Content Skip to Footer

Zolak & Bertrand

Marc Bertrand: Bill Belichick pulled a “weasel move”

Author

On Monday’s edition of Zolak & Bertrand, Marc Bertrand said Bill Belichick pulled a “weasel move” this morning when asked about giving up personnel control.

This is a leverage play…

Marc Bertrand: I don’t buy it. I think it’s a PR play. I think it’s that he’s not going to go down looking like a guy who walked out on the team. He’s not going to do it, he’s not going to play their game. He’s not going to be willing to make them look good, he knows he’s on his way out and he’s not partaking in it. And he’s not going to be an active participant in his firing.

Scott Zolak: Like Leonardo DiCaprio in Wolf of Wall Street for Wall Street. I’m not leaving I ain’t leaving.

Marc Bertrand: They’re trying to divvy up the airline miles. That’s what it is.

Tim McKone: That whole, like, mutual parting of the ways thing that we’ve kind of floated out. That’s not happening.

Marc Bertrand: That’s out the window. That’s what’s going on now.

Scott Zolak: At least we get some answers and I love all the reporting on it. Hey, there are three things that can happen here. Update… like Jordan Schultz added last week and somebody else got it. It’s either he’s get traded, getting released, or find a way to make it work. Duh. Is there a fourth? Is there fifth? No. At least we know we’re not agreeing to this nice quiet exit here.

Marc Bertrand: No, he’s not. And with this he’s trying to create more leverage is what he’s trying to do in this situation and more control. That’s what’s going on. 24 years on the job and on the final day of that 24th season, he decided, you know what? I’m not into being a GM anymore. Yeah no, I’m into giving it all up, really today.

Scott Zolak: I mean, how many job opportunities are out there already?

Marc Bertrand: Today’s the day. You decided after 24 years. Today’s the day you thought. Well, it’s in the best interest of the team you go ahead. And you know what else he also did in that answer, which I thought was kind of weaselly, was him trying to pretend that he is not the final say. Right? I mean, that is a weasel move. And you know what it also speaks to is that collectively word right… when he uses that.

Scott Zolak: Just like when Mac got picked.

Marc Bertrand: Bingo. He’s going right back to the Mac pick.

Jan 7, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick talks to reporters after the game against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Jan 7, 2024; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick talks to reporters after the game against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Listen to the full segment!

Tyler Milliken started out at the Sports Hub as an intern in 2020 for the Zolak & Bertrand program before eventually becoming the associate producer in late 2021. He often joins the baseball conversation on Zolak & Bertrand and is a contributor to The Baseball Hour throughout the season. Along with that, he has been a co-host on DraftKings Name Redacted Podcast with Jared Carrabis for the last two years, where they cover everything going on with the Red Sox. Born and raised in Brockton, he reps the city proudly.

Bill Belichick doesn't sound like somebody who plans on leaving the Patriots

Down the stretch of the 2023 NFL season, few topics have been discussed more than the future of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. But while the outside noise builds with the end of the season, only two people will ultimately decide Belichick’s fate in New England – himself and his boss, Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

Belichick and Kraft are expected to meet on Monday for their annual post-season meeting where they discuss the state of the team, which would include Belichick’s future. Ahead of that meeting Belichick spoke with reports on Monday morning, and sounded like somebody who both wants to and plans to remain with the Patriots’ organization.

READ MORE:

—Patriots 2024 draft positioning set
—An early look at the 2024 schedule
—7 takeaways from the season finale

“Obviously things need to be fixed,” Belichick said in his opening statement. “I’m under contract. I’m going to do what I always do, which is – every day I come in, work as hard as I can to help the team in whatever way I can. So, that’s what I’m going to continue to do.”

Belichick spoke multiple times about the future of the organization, as somebody who sounds like he plans to be a part of it. “I think we have some things that we can build on. I think there are some things that we need to to fix and change,” he said at one point when asked how much injuries impacted the overall picture of the 2023 season.

That continued on to when he was asked if he’d be surprised if Kraft ultimately doesn’t want to bring him back.

“I’m going to focus on what I am going to control and focus on,” Belichick replied. “That’s my work ethic and my effort to do what I can to help the Patriots organization, which I’m heavily invested in.”

  • Perhaps most notably, Belichick didn’t dismiss the idea of a diminished role when it comes to his work in the front office. Belichick has served as the Patriots de facto GM for most of his career in New England, but a series of unsuccessful drafts (he hasn’t re-signed a top 100 pick since 2013) and free agent classes are among the leading reasons a change is even being discussed.

    “I’m for whatever collectively we decided as an organization is the best thing to help our football team,” he said when asked if he’d be open to relinquishing personnel responsibilities. “I have multiple roles in that, and I rely on a lot of people to help me in those responsibilities – somebody’s got to have the final say.”

    Despite mentioning that “final say,” Belichick did also seem to take the moment at the end of that answer to spread some of the blame for the team’s recent personnel issues. “I have – I rely on a lot of other people to help,” he added. “Whatever that process is, I’m only part of it.”

    Belichick also declined to answer a question when asked if he’d be open to coaching elsewhere, saying “I’m not going to get into a lot of hypothetical situations.”

    While Belichick did sound like somebody who plans to be here for the future, he didn’t get into exactly what he sees that future looking like. “As far as any decisions or direction for next year, it’s way too early for that,” he noted in his opening statement. Later, when asked about the ‘organizational culture,’ Belichick replied “I think we’ll evaluate everything, and take a course that we feel like collectively puts us on the path to success.”

    Will Belichick be in Foxborough helping to lead that new path? That’s now the question everyone is waiting on the answer for. Belichick and Kraft will meet on Monday to discuss the future, with Belichick saying that the highly-anticipated ‘meeting’ could actually be “a series of meetings” over the next few days.

  • Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at [email protected].

Sign me up for the 98.5 The Sports Hub email newsletter!

Get the latest Boston sports news and analysis, plus exclusive on-demand content and special giveaways from Boston's Home for Sports, 98.5 The Sports Hub.

*
*
By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.
Author
Category:
Tags:
,,

More Zolak & Bertrand

Load More