FOXBORO, Mass. — Bill Belichick showed a side the national media typically doesn’t like discussing, mostly because it’s more fun to talk about the Grinch Who Stole Football.
The New England Patriots head coach walked into the media workroom Friday with a smile on his face and said, “Here we go, the hardcore group.”
Midway through the news conference, Belichick was asked about Chuck Noll, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach from 1969 to 1991, and went off on a 10-minute history lesson. Because he went so long on Steelers history, Belichick extended his news conference and agreed to answer additional questions. He told stories of Bill Russell, Mick Jagger, Lou Gehrig and Jack Lambert.
Belichick was scheduled for 15 minutes and went nearly 30. Belichick typically is in a cheerier mood Friday, when the crowd disperses for the week, than on Wednesday, when cameras and reporters are in full force. But this was Belichick in rare form with a campfire vibe.
Belichick’s gruff, one-word answers generate more headlines, but while it’s atypical to get 30 minutes out of him, it’s not unusual to draw a decent answer out of the head coach on any day. He doesn’t like questions about injuries or controversies, and he won’t hand out his game plan, but when the topic turns to football, he’s as good as anyone.
Here are highlights from Friday’s presser.
On the Pittsburgh Steelers’ history:Â “I’ve learned a lot going against the Steelers, going back to Coach Noll and then Coach (Bill) Cowher, and I’ve learned a lot because they’ve been so consistent. They’ve stayed very much the same, three coaches in the last 40 years or however long it’s been, a long time. Because of their consistency, I’ve learned a lot from studying that organization.”
On coaching against the Steelers early in his coaching career:Â “In ’75 with the Colts, we started out 1-4 and we won our last nine games to go 10-4 to win the division, a tremendous turnaround. And then we went to Pittsburgh for the playoffs, and they had a great team. We really had a chance in that game. It was 17-13 I think in the fourth quarter, and we drive down, we’re on the 5-, 6-yard line, whatever it was, and he intercepted it and ran it back for a touchdown, so instead of going ahead, instead we’re down two scores and we end up getting beat. My point, from my first year in the league, just seeing how good they were. They were so good on defense. Every guy was better than the next guy, from (Joe) Green to (Jack) Lambert to that whole front four, the secondary.”
On Duron Harmon’s silent leadership: “Bill Russell taught me this. That in a way, a silent leader in some respects is more powerful than a vocal leader, because you hear the vocal guy, you see him, you’re very aware of it, but then there are guys that give you that quiet leadership that in a way is more powerful, because it’s not quite out there as much, but it’s that quiet push that sometimes can have a little more impetus.”
On when he met Bill Russell: “Bill came here in ’02. We’ve spoken a few times. In fact, I saw Bill last year at the (Boston Celtics) playoff game.”
On Elandon Roberts’ lack of playing time until his senior season at Houston:Â “It’s a great question. It’s like, ‘Is that production circumstantial? Is that production real? Is this guy really on the way up? Or was that the peak?’ And then, ‘Is it going to come back down?’
“I guess the one that sticks out the most for me would be Coach (Nick) Saban’s story about (Jack) Lambert, when he was at Kent State, speaking of the Steelers. How Lambert couldn’t get on the field, he was a backup linebacker, didn’t play, and the kid in front of him was really their leader, he was really the heart and soul of the Kent State defense. … And through a series of circumstances — that’s another long story, we’ll skip through all that — anyway, the kid dropped out of school, went to work for Mick Jagger, he was the security guy for a tour with The (Rolling) Stones, and Lambert became the starting middle linebacker. He probably would have never played had that not happened, and you have a Hall of Fame player.
“Sometimes things take a turn, and once some players get that opportunity, and they get in there, the Tom Bradys of the world or whoever, you can’t get them out of there — Lou Gehrig.”
Thumbnail photo via Doug Kyed/NESN
