Contrary to popular belief, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s mouth does form into a smile.
“All the time,” according to former Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, who also described Belichick as funny.
Wilfork was asked how Belichick is funny on Barstool Sports’ “Pardon My Take” podcast. The free agent nose tackle went on to explain how Belichick makes practice fun.
“He’s funny, and he enjoys what he does,” Wilfork said. “That’s one thing people don’t understand about Belichick is he’s so down to earth. He’s such a good dude. His players love him. He knows how to turn a key to get you to get right, and then he also knows how to back off and have fun. That’s one thing I always noticed, and we always had fun at practice. I always had fun at practice.
“I remember we used to do this thing every Friday. Friday would be our cool down day and a light practice, and we would always kick the ball off. And he’d have the team, we’d all cover the kick, like a kickoff team. Every day, I would go to Bill and say, ‘I’m gonna make the tackle.’ He’s like, ‘Oh, you’re not gonna make the tackle.’ So, every day we would bet like some type of food or something, pushups or anything. We would bet something if I would make the tackle or not. That tradition carried on throughout — they probably still do it now.
“That was just a side of Bill understanding and having fun with his teammates. Even if it was something conditioning-wise, we’d always have fun doing it. He made the game fun, but at the same time he’d make it tough for you, too. It’s a reason he’s the greatest coach of all time, because he can relate to his players.”
Belichick has been known to take his team on impromptu trips to the movies, too. They’ve also used valuable practice time to play a different type of football.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
