FOXBORO, Mass. — Sunday’s game is likely to be the coldest regular-season home game in New England Patriots history, but you’d never know it by looking at Bill Belichick’s pregame attire.
Two-and-a-half hours before his team’s 1 p.m. ET matchup with the New York Jets, the Patriots coach strolled onto the turf at Gillette Stadium wearing shorts, gloves and a cutoff hoodie. The temperature at the time? 9 degrees with a wind chill of negative-6.
That’s a football guy.
Belichick only stayed on the field for a minute or two, taking a quick survey of the field conditions before returning to the locker room. But in temperatures this cold, even that bordered on lunacy.
Patriots defensive line coach Brendan Daly also was severely underdressed Sunday morning, wearing shorts as he and his fellow assistant coaches completed their weekly pregame workout. Daly at least had long sleeves on, though.
The coldest regular-season home game in Patriots history was a 1977 contest against the Miami Dolphins, which had a game-time temperature of 14 degrees. Sunday’s forecast calls for 13 degrees temperatures at kickoff with a wind chill of negative-2.
