ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Before Bill Belichick got down to business coaching his New England Patriots players in a joint practice with the Detroit Lions, he got a little nostalgic.
The Lions were Belichick’s second employer in the NFL and his first as a positional coach. Belichick coached special teams, wide receivers and tight ends from 1976 to 1977 in Detroit. He took a trip down memory lane during his opening statement to the media Monday.
“It’s great personally for me, even though I was never part of this particular facility, just to look back on some of the pictures here in the facility – Charlie Sanders, who I coached, Lem Barney, Mr. (William Clay) Ford, and many other great players and great people in this organization,” Belichick said. “It has a long history, so I really appreciate the opportunity to be here and for our football team to improve over the next few days.”
Belichick later was asked if he had a sense of pride because Lions head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn both came from his coaching/scouting tree.
“I know a lot of people in this building and certainly have a lot of respect for them, and wish them well,” Belichick said. “As I said, it’s a great building to walk into, period. It’s a tremendous facility and it certainly brings back a lot of memories for me from ‘76 to ‘77 when I was here. That being said, the real purpose of our trip here is to improve our football team. That’s what we’re here for, so I don’t want to get caught up in a lot of the other things. They’re nice and they’re there, but what we’re here for is to do what we need to do and help our football team get better.”
Belichick’s father, Steve, played for the Lions in 1941.
