FOXBORO, Mass. — Bill Belichick doesn’t come off as the most jovial fellow, and the shiner he sported above his left eye while greeting the media Tuesday certainly didn’t improve that image.
Believe it or not, though, the New England Patriots head coach gets along just fine with plenty of other coaches around the league, especially the one he’ll face Saturday.
Belichick had high praise Tuesday for veteran head coach Andy Reid, who will lead the Kansas City Chiefs into Gillette Stadium for an AFC Divisional Round matchup.
“I just think Andy is a straight-up guy, a football guy,” Belichick said. “I’ve always enjoyed my time and conversations with him. We’ve never worked together, but separate from that, we’ve had good relationships. He has a great sense of humor. I like his family, just like he likes ours.”
Belichick has had plenty of chances to share a few laughs with Reid over the years, if you believe the former actually does laugh. Reid been a coach in the NFL for over two decades, taking his first job in 1992 as an offensive assistant for the Green Bay Packers, one year after Belichick began his first head coaching stint with the Cleveland Browns.
Apparently, the two have known each other for such a long time that Belichick doesn’t know when their friendship actually began.
“Yeah, it’s been through the years,” Belichick said. “Both of us have been around so long, I don’t know if either one of us can remember that far.”
We’re guessing Reid remembers the last time he faced Belichick in the postseason, when his Philadelphia Eagles fell short to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. But Belichick knows the veteran coach, already in his third season with Kansas City, will be well-prepared come Saturday.
“Andy is rooted in the West Coast offensive system, and I think that’s still true,” Belichick said. “Good balance between the running game and passing game. He’s always hard to defend, uses all of his players, gets everybody involved, a lot of run-after-catch yards, always productive offensively.”
Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
