Bill Belichick Battling Illness, Expects To Coach In Patriots-Jets

Since the start of December, 11 different Patriots players have missed at least one practice due to illness.

On Friday, that bug hit Bill Belichick.

New England’s head coach shifted his final pregame news conference of the season from in-person to virtual and was visibly under the weather while he addressed reporters over a WebEx video call.

“I’m not feeling too good,” Belichick said. “I thought I’d spare everybody in the first couple of rows from my coughing and sneezing.”

Belichick’s voice was hoarse, and he coughed several times during his 12-minute call.

Belichick said the illness won’t affect his preparation for Sunday’s season finale. Asked whether he’ll be fit to finish out the week and coach against the New York Jets, the 71-year-old coach replied: “I expect to.”

That game likely will be played in less-than-ideal weather conditions, as the forecast for Foxboro, Mass., calls for snow throughout the day Sunday. If that holds, it would be the first true snow game at Gillette Stadium since 2009.

“We’re not going to create snow and get a snow machine in here,” Belichick said when asked how the team is preparing for Sunday. “But depending on what the conditions are, we can certainly talk about it and show examples of what playing in different type of conditions is like as a mental reminder for everybody. That’ll definitely be part of it, part of the preparation.”

While most of the Patriots’ players have recovered from their sicknesses — slot cornerback Myles Bryant was back on the practice field Thursday after sitting out Wednesday — offensive tackle Trent Brown missed the first two practices this week with what Belichick called “some flu-type symptoms.”

Belichick said he did not expect Brown, who was a healthy scratch for last week’s loss in Buffalo, to participate Friday in New England’s last practice of the season, making him unlikely to suit up against the Jets.