Bill Belichick is far more of a people person than he lets on during news conferences.
However, according to one former Patriot, there’s a gap between Belichick’s approach to relationships with players and those of some of the NFL’s younger head coaches.
Kyle Van Noy, who spent parts of five seasons in New England, is in his first campaign playing for the Los Angeles Chargers and their 40-year-old head coach, Brandon Staley. During an appearance Wednesday on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Van Noy was asked to identify the main difference between Belichick and Staley.
“Staley is very, very smart,” Van Noy said. “He has a bright future in the NFL. Obviously, he’s my coach, so I’m going to say good things, right? … He loves football, man. So energetic. You guys have talked to these new-aged coaches — the McVays, the Shanahans, the LaFleurs — all these dudes. These dudes are, like, nerds, you know? And I say that in a good way, right? Nerds in the sense that they love football. They love the history. They love the ins and outs about everything — and I respect that. They love their job and they love what they do.
“I would say the biggest difference between Bill and Staley is relationships. (Staley) has relationships with every single player on the team. It’s really impressive how he can work a room. He’s got everybody’s number in (his) favorites. He can call them right then and there. And any player, he reaches out. I respect that. In this new age of players, you’ve gotta do that. And he’s done a great job of that.”
Van Noy then insisted that he wasn’t firing a shot at Belichick.
“And I’m not saying Bill — I have a great relationship with Bill. But not everybody does. And so, I would say that’s the biggest difference, is the relationship base Staley forms versus Bill.”
Last season, then-rookie Christian Barmore praised Belichick for going out of his way to connect with him — something he didn’t experience while playing for Nick Saban at Alabama.
Still, according to Van Noy, Belichick might not go to the same lengths as some of his youthful contemporaries when trying to bond with other players on the roster. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing is up for debate.
