Like many, presumably, I was ready to move on. Then I read this and came to the simple, inevitable conclusion that Bill Belichick will forever remain his own worst enemy whether he works for Robert Kraft or the University of North Carolina, the NFL or the NCAA. He just can’t help himself. It’s how he wants it.
So before I even begin, let me say that some of this may be perceived as criticism of ESPN reporter Seth Wickersham, whose latest delivery was, as usual, worth the time and then some. His work is generally excellent and this was, too. But the fact that Bill Belichick somehow sees himself as a victim is downright laughable, and the blood inside me began to bubble when I reached this line in Wickersham’s latest effort.
Why, you may ask, is Bill Belichick now coaching in college?
Writes Wickersham:
It was because, in the words of a confidant, Belichick is “disgusted” in what he believes the NFL had become.
“This is a big f— you to the NFL,” another Belichick confidant says.
Oh Bill … will you ever stop scoffing at those who decide to stop polishing your shoes? Your coaching greatness has never been in question. It’s just that everyone is eventually ushered off the stage. Some walk through the door more gracefully, certainly, but everyone gets shown it. Only Curly Lambeau, Tom Landry and Don Shula spent more time coaching one team than you did. You didn’t get shunned from the NFL because the league doesn’t like you – at least not entirely. As usual with you, things are far more complicated than that.
You’re angry, Bill, which is fine.
But you’re angry because the NFL gave you a big f— you first.
So BB now belongs to UNC, which is fine. Let’s just not paint it as some sort of victory for Belichick, who remains 15 wins short of Shula’s total of 347, the most ever by a coach in NFL regular- and post-season play. Seemingly, that will now never change. Like many of the greats in their professions, Belichick was a stickler for details, demanding and disrespectful. That’s all part of who he is and helps explain why he was able to do what he has done, though he always needed his share of the credit for someone who spent so much time talking about teamwork.
Here’s another part of Wickersham’s story that warrants your attention:
When Belichick was fired by Kraft, despite it initially being presented as a mutual parting — Kraft later cited trust and an eagerness to reclaim organizational power as factors — he knew that his next job was not going to resemble the one he’d held for more than two decades. … Belichick insisted to the Falcons and made clear to other teams with openings last year that he wasn’t seeking the total control of football operations he enjoyed for most of his head coaching career, both in Cleveland and in New England. He was willing to work with existing staff, whether it was Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot or Commanders general manager Adam Peters or Jerry Jones or Howie Roseman, if the Cowboys or Eagles, respectively, had decided to change coaches.
But something about it was always hard to buy — and owners didn’t.
One paragraph later, we got this:
“Listening to Fontenot discuss drafting systems last January, as if he knew it all, bothered him,” a Belichick confidant says.
Think of that. On the one hand, Belichick sat with Falcons officials, including owner Arthur Blank, and told them he could play nicely with others. Then he walked out of the room and it wasn’t long before he told a friend – someone, again, Wickersham calls a “confidant” – that he found one of those potential co-workers to be an insufferable, know-it-all jerk.
And it’s the league’s fault Belichick is in North Carolina? Or maybe Kraft is to blame? Please. Let’s stop with the nonsense. As someone once told me, our strengths are also our weaknesses. The knowledge, experience and arrogance that made Belichick a brilliant football coach also made him an unrepentant boor. He didn’t truly apologize for Spygate until many years later, when he was mired in Deflategate. He thumbed his nose at the league and many of the people in it, from players to owners to officials. Often he was right. But sometimes he was wrong. He was just never very good at admitting it.
Does Terry Fontenot really think he knows more than I do?
But then, that’s the problem with being the smartest person in the room.
Comparatively speaking, everyone else is stupid and, therefore, has no value to you.
But wait, there’s more.
Wickersham also gave us this:
Maybe the signs were there a month ago, when Belichick told “The Pat McAfee Show” of the horror stories of answering asinine questions from owners. He told a confidant within the past week that he’s “tired of the stupidness” of the NFL. Unlike Brady, Belichick has always embraced his darker side, with actions more often than words, and made no secret of his grievances. He turned the postgame handshake into a spectator sport. He seethed at the piousness around the league after Spygate. After Deflategate, he walked out of a league meeting when commissioner Roger Goodell spoke. And then, after his unquestioned greatness was suddenly questioned and became talk-show fodder for two years — How good is he without Brady? — he watched owners display abject indifference to his services. “He’s disgusted,” a confidant says.
How’s that for the proverbial full circle? The move who drove Tom Brady from New England became disgusted after his unquestioned greatness was suddenly questioned. The difference is that Brady walked and went to Tampa Bay, where he won another Super Bowl. Belichick was fired and walked into a void, then jumped at the North Carolina job when nobody really came looking for him.
One final thing: in recounting the events that produced The Education of a Coach, the Belichick profile authored by the esteemed David Halbertsam, Wickersham told us that Belichick resisted because it would go against every fiber of his being if he turned the spotlight on himself. Somewhere, if Brady and Kraft were informed of that line, they’re still laughing. Belichick always craved the recognition the way any player would. And like any player, he relished the time on the stage the way any high achiever would. He just didn’t like it when his time ended.
Does this all mean Belichick is done? Hardly. Maybe he will excel at UNC. Maybe he will join Pete Carroll, Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer as the only coaches to win both a Super Bowl and NCAA Championship. As usual, Seth Wickersham has once again given us great insight into how Bill Belichick thinks, what his view of the world looks like.
An as usual, Bill Belichick seemingly wants to blame everyone but himself when things go wrong.
Gallery
Belichick and the big moments
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – FEBRUARY 05: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots walks on the sidelines against the New York Giants during Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 5, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – APRIL 13: U.S. President George W. Bush poses for photographers with members of New England Patriots during a Rose Garden event to honor the Super Bowl Champions April 13, 2005 at the White House in Washington, DC. The Patriots have won the Super Bowl three times in the last four years. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll following Super Bowl XLIX.
GLENDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 01: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots is congratulated by Richard Sherman #25 of the Seattle Seahawks after Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium on February 1, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona. The Patriots defeated the Seahawks 28-24. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – FEBRUARY 03: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots talks to head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots after the Patriots defeat the Rams 13-3 during Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 3, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 01: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots holds the Vince Lombardi Trophyafter defeating the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 during Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium on February 1, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 01: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots reacts during Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle Seahawks at University of Phoenix Stadium on February 1, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX – FEBRUARY 05: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots celebrates after the Patriots defeat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime of Super Bowl 51 at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – FEBRUARY 04: Head coach Doug Pederson of the Philadelphia Eagles shakes hands with head coach Bill Belichick after defeating the New England Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium on February 4, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 19: New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick (L) and team owner Robert Kraft (R) present a football helmet to U.S. President Donald Trump during a celebration of the team’s Super Bowl victory on the South Lawn at the White House April 19, 2017 in Washington, DC. It was the team’s fifth Super Bowl victory since 1960. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
