FOXBORO, Mass. — A few ago, Joe Mazzulla visited a New England Patriots practice and spend the early part of the session talking with Bill Belichick.
Little did they know that, three weeks later, Mazzulla would be named interim head coach of the Boston Celtics.
Mazzulla, a Rhode Island native, will lead the Celtics this season following the shocking suspension of head coach Ime Udoka. At 34 years old, Mazzulla will be one of the youngest head coaches in NBA history.
Roughly an hour before the start of Friday’s practice, Belichick was asked for his thoughts on Mazzulla’s visit. New England’s head coach offered a mostly nondescript answer, aside from his clear effort to avoid mentioning Udoka by name.
“Yeah, had a great opportunity to visit,” Belichick said. “Always had a great relationship with all those guys for multiple years: Brad, and then as Brad stepped down, other people that have come in there.
“Yeah, very interesting. Just talking about pro athletes, pro sports, teaching, learning, so forth. It was good, a good day.”
Time will tell whether Mazzulla is ready to be a head coach at the NBA level. Furthermore, Udoka’s future in Boston remains similarly unclear.
As for the Patriots, they’ll enjoy an off day Saturday before hosting the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday afternoon.
