HOUSTON — As is usually the case at Super Bowls, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was especially chatty during his availability with the media Tuesday.
Belichick’s longest answer — 652 words to be exact — came when asked about the influence of his father, longtime Navy coach and scout Steve Belichick.
“I grew up going to Navy practices and meetings that he would have with the team,” Belichick said. “He scouted Navy’s upcoming opponents on Tuesday night’s. He would go over to the field house, then the team would come over and he would watch the film with them. Of course, back in those days, players went both ways, offense and defense. You would watch continuous film of offense, defense and special teams. The same guys were out there playing whether you were on offense or defense.
“I would go over there with them, sit and listen to him talk to the team. He just told them that this is what they’re going to do, here’s the key, this is the backfield stance, whatever it was. Just talking to the team and preparing the team from a scouting standpoint. Of course, that gave me a great opportunity to see a number great coaches that were at the Naval Academy. Head coaches like Wayne Harden and good assistant coaches like coach Rozano and coach Corso, Ernie, George, I’ll go down the line. There was dozens of them. Joe Bugal, just all the positions. Each guy had a different style and a different way of doing things. I kind of learned that you could be a good coach doing it this way or doing it that way.
“As it goes back to my dad, I would say hard work and preparation. To go to a game and watch him scout the game was an unforgettable experience. There would be four or five other scouts in the press box scouting the game. He’d be there with his book and scout it. He would write down the substitutions and the play and would be ready to go for the next play. When it was all over, those plays were the game. You had to wait two days before you had the chance to see the film. You would have other scouts asking what happened on that play. He was just so good at it.
“When the game would be over and we would be driving home, we would talk about the game but he saw every play. The scheme and the defense, the pattern that they ran, the coverage they were in, who blitzed. He had a great vision. He taught me what he watched for. How he watched the triangle, the fullback, how to move down to the passing game if the quarterback was off the line of scrimmage. If it was a running play, see the blocking pattern. Before that, he already knew the blocking pattern, the down and distance, the formation on the front. That was already locked in and he just put it together.
“It was really impressive but I realized that came from not just watching it but knowing where the players were and where they came from. When he would come back, he usually came back Saturday night after the game. Say Navy was playing a home game, he would go scout Penn State or whoever it was and get back Saturday night. Sunday morning coach Rozano, coach George, coach Harden would come over or call him and ask him what happened in the game because they hadn’t seen the film yet and he’d tell them. Those kinds of things really got him ahead on the game plan. Those are some of the things I learned from him.
“I was fortunate too. He ran a football camp, and I had the opportunity to coach in that camp. Not that I was a coach, but it helped me get into it. In college for sure because I wasn’t allowed to go to that camp as a player. That was for high school players only. Kind of just getting into coaching even at that level and just understanding coaching meetings, personalities, decisions, techniques and fundamentals. It was good preparation.
“Long answer to a short question.”
Fathers have been a preeminent storyline of Super Bowl LI. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady got emotional Monday during Opening Night when asked about his dad, and defensive end Chris Long’s father, Howie Long, will be an analyst in the game for FOX Sports. Belichick’s two sons, safeties coach Steve and scouting assistant Brian, are both on the Patriots’ staff this season.
Thumbnail photo via Michael Madrid/USA TODAY Sports Images
