Bill Belichick's Media Career

[InstaFace]

So, I think it's time for a break from the "what's next for BB?" thread, because that is 90%+ about him getting other coaching opportunities. Which he may well get again, sometime in the future. But in the meantime, we now have something almost qualitatively different than anything we've ever gotten out of BB: In-depth and fully candid assessments of the game he loves. Well, the one he loves second-best, anyway. Other than the Belichick Breakdowns with Scott Zolak, where we'd get a few hurried film analyses before he got back to his real job, I'm not sure we've ever gotten anything like this before out of Bill, and it's awesome.

Behold: FORTY NINE MINUTES of BB and Mike Lombardi looking at film of the 5 rookie QBs.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYvQtTTQyeI


And this is just a start. He's expected to appear on 6 edit: now all 11 of the ManningCast games this season (starting earlier tonight!), he's part of Inside the NFL, he's on Pat McAfee's show on Mondays, he's breaking down an upcoming matchup alongside Peyton Manning every Friday, and other projects too. Left without a team to obsessively coach, he is pouring his obsession into (apparently) saying yes to every single opportunity to go on a show and talk about football, or be his own football show, that is brought to him. And I could honestly listen to him talk ball all day long.

Who knew he had this kind of public-facing charisma, as soon as his job description changed from "win football games" to "enjoy talking about football"?

View: https://twitter.com/OmahaProd/status/1833313941180600642

 

[riboflav]

I don't have anything substantive to say right now other I am grateful for you starting this thread bc I believe he's the best NFL analyst we've seen in decades. I'm so excited for this portion of his career. I'm also sure I've missed a few of his appearances so hopefully those will be posted here.

I can't wait for the day he lands on Edleman's pod.

 

[Patsfan1983]

He's still very anti-Maye and it almost comes off as sour grapes. I'm glad he's gone for the rebuild as i feel like after watching that he's trading down and taking Nix if he stayed

 

[CoffeeNerdness]

The rookie QB video is from his YouTube channel along with two other videos so far.

https://youtube.com/@coachwithbb

 

[Rico Guapo]

He's still very anti-Maye and it almost comes off as sour grapes. I'm glad he's gone for the rebuild as i feel like after watching that he's trading down and taking Nix if he stayed

https://twitter.com/FitzyGFY/status/1833202613107462239

 

[Silverdude2167]

I am sure you all talk glowingly about your former employer, who unjustly in some minds ran you out of town and then slandered you afterwards...

 

[The Social Chair]

Someone wisely told him that billionaire owners love television commentators. Doing all of this media work is the best way for him to get hired again. I'm not sure he does it otherwise.

 

[reggiecleveland]

It makes me laugh when people are surprised Bill is funny, engaging, etc. I not sure how people think he was the most successful coach without the charisma, people skills to relate to players. I know some of it is his demeanor in press conferences, but pretty clear when talking to football people he is in his element and tends to be the definitive voice.

 

[Curt S Loew]

It makes me laugh when people are surprised Bill is funny, engaging, etc. I not sure how people think he was the most successful coach without the charisma, people skills to relate to players. I know some of it is his demeanor in press conferences, but pretty clear when talking to football people he is in his element and tends to be the definitive voice.

All you need to do is watch any of the Three Games To Glory. And if you haven't, what's wrong with you?

 

[Justthetippett]

Someone wisely told him that billionaire owners love television commentators. Doing all of this media work is the best way for him to get hired again. I'm not sure he does it otherwise.

If he does get another job it will be interesting to see if he changes his approach at all with the media now that he's been out there experiencing it. He might also target a smaller market where he can manipulate everything with fewer grimaces. In any case, good for him.

 

[BusRaker]

If BB is on all of the Manningcasts, isn't it really the ManningChick casts?

 

[Auger34]

I don't have anything substantive to say right now other I am grateful for you starting this thread bc I believe he's the best NFL analyst we've seen in decades. I'm so excited for this portion of his career. I'm also sure I've missed a few of his appearances so hopefully those will be posted here.

I can't wait for the day he lands on Edleman's pod.

Me too. I am kind of bummed/surprised he hasn't gone on there already (especially when he's on air with that goon McAfee all of the damn time)

 

[riboflav]

Me too. I am kind of bummed/surprised he hasn't gone on there already (especially when he's on air with that goon McAfee all of the damn time)

You know too he's going to pick like some low-scoring regular season game almost no one remembers haha.

 

[CoffeeNerdness]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/manningcast-plummets-to-all-time-low-of-872-000-viewers

 

[rodderick]

For all the talk of how much Brady sucked in his broadcasting debut, I feel like Bill has been just as bad and just as bland in all of his appearances (and boy are there many of those) aside from the draft coverage. A lot of generalities and much less of a distinct personality than I expected from him. But I guess he's still eyeing a return to coaching and wouldn't want to be super open with his thoughts.

 

[Ed Hillel]

Bill touts his own draft pick and calls Jonas Gray “Jonah Gray” lol.

View: https://twitter.com/savagesports_/status/1834912074700407202?s=46

 

[Jinhocho]

Bill touts his own draft pick and calls Jonas Gray “Jonah Gray” lol.

View: https://twitter.com/savagesports_/status/1834912074700407202?s=46

So if he talks negative about the Pats he is bitter and if he says nothing he is self promoting.

 

[Ed Hillel]

So if he talks negative about the Pats he is bitter and if he says nothing he is self promoting.

I mean I love Bill. I hope his draft picks play well and he touts them all year.

 

[Jinhocho]

I mean I love Bill. I hope his draft picks play well and he touts them all year.

Sorry Ed. I wasn't specifically targeting you but it just feels like this is the vibe he is hit with whenever he says anything about the Patriots. And if he doesn't say anything about the Patriots that is supposed to be telling as well.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

View: https://youtu.be/Fg9MQCqdsZc?si=57Atr6-MdacGXX1N

 

[caminante11]

Patricia is about half the size he was before

 

[Salva135]

No offense but Patricia is one of the reasons why BB is sitting around talking about football rather than coaching it right now. He was a failure as a HC in Detroit and famously despised by the players, and then came back and bombed in a new role in Foxboro. I would love to know what BB thinks is so special about this guy. BB really did just want to work with his friends at the end.

 

[sezwho]

No offense but Patricia is one of the reasons why BB is sitting around talking about football rather than coaching it right now. He was a failure as a HC in Detroit and famously despised by the players, and then came back and bombed in a new role in Foxboro. I would love to know what BB thinks is so special about this guy. BB really did just want to work with his friends at the end.

Yup, and as a result now he’s working with them again. Doing podcasts.

 

[biollante]

I enjoyed him in the Manning cast the other night. Seems more about football. I don't know if he is a nice person or whether he hates the Pats but sometimes he has specific insight as do the Mannings. Maybe the game passed him by but he still sees things.

 

[ShaneTrot]

No offense but Patricia is one of the reasons why BB is sitting around talking about football rather than coaching it right now. He was a failure as a HC in Detroit and famously despised by the players, and then came back and bombed in a new role in Foxboro. I would love to know what BB thinks is so special about this guy. BB really did just want to work with his friends at the end.

I don’t know what happened to Patricia when he went to Detroit but he seemed to be well liked in New England before he left. McCourty and many of the defensive players aways spoke highly of Matty P.

 

[Curt S Loew]

I don’t know what happened to Patricia when he went to Detroit but he seemed to be well liked in New England before he left. McCourty and many of the defensive players aways spoke highly of Matty P.

Yeah. People have short memories. He was pretty well liked and important as DC here winning 2 SB's.

Another guy who should have stayed a coordinator. On that side of the ball.

 

[rodderick]

Bill gasing up the Cowboys and Eagles, while routinely shitting on the Falcons and saying nothing about the Pats after a win, but have criticisms after a loss, is so transparent it's unbecoming of a guy of his stature.

 

[streeter88]

Be interesting to see how far and how fast that viewpoint spreads. But definitely not a good look.

 

[Salva135]

Yeah. People have short memories. He was pretty well liked and important as DC here winning 2 SB's.

Another guy who should have stayed a coordinator. On that side of the ball.

It's just really interesting how BB clearly has an inner circle in the football world and guys like McDaniels and Patricia seem to have lifetime passes into it no matter what they do.

 

[tims4wins]

Yeah. People have short memories. He was pretty well liked and important as DC here winning 2 SB's.

Another guy who should have stayed a coordinator. On that side of the ball.

Ish.

The 2014 team finished 13th in total defense and 8th in points. It also gave up 31 points in the divisional and 24 in the Super Bowl. It did produce a master class in in the AFCCG.

The 2016 team finished 8th in total defense and 1st in points against. It also had a much better playoff run.

Then of course the 2017 team finished 29th in total defense, and 5th in points against. And had the Super Bowl debacle.

Seems to me he was kind of a JAG at the coordinator spot.

 

[Curt S Loew]

Ish.

The 2014 team finished 13th in total defense and 8th in points. It also gave up 31 points in the divisional and 24 in the Super Bowl. It did produce a master class in in the AFCCG.

The 2016 team finished 8th in total defense and 1st in points against. It also had a much better playoff run.

Then of course the 2017 team finished 29th in total defense, and 5th in points against. And had the Super Bowl debacle.

Seems to me he was kind of a JAG at the coordinator spot.

Fact remains he was part of two rings and pretty well liked.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

It's just really interesting how BB clearly has an inner circle in the football world and guys like McDaniels and Patricia seem to have lifetime passes into it no matter what they do.

BB had a lot of success with each of them. I don't know about your industry but in mine everyone who has been around has long-term friendships with many of our former colleagues, customers and competitors.

Also, I strongly suspect that BB has a much different perspective on the failings of McDaniels or Patricia. Pats, Raiders, Broncos and Lions fans may feel that either/both screwed them but I suspect those in the industry might see it in less binary terms.

 

[The Social Chair]

McDaniels, Patricia, and Judge were basically run out of town by the players when they were head coaches. Flores and BOB had difficult relationships with key players as well. Definitely a pattern but I bet this is true for most fired coaches.

 

[dynomite]

It's just really interesting how BB clearly has an inner circle in the football world and guys like McDaniels and Patricia seem to have lifetime passes into it no matter what they do.

Eh, Belichick had a reputation for being a huge advocate and mentor for his staff. Saban and others have talked about how her made calls on their behalf and tried to give them advice as they were preparing to take on head coaching roles elsewhere -- probably in direct contrast to Parcells, who according to many of them seemed to be dismissive of his assistant coaches.

Guys like Bill O'Brien, McDaniels, Patricia, Judge all left New England and returned when they flamed out elsewhere, which probably means they left on very good terms with BB and remained so.

I assume Flores and Mangini were sort of the exception of people who left the Belichick coaching tree and ended up breaking with him. Mangini because of Spygate, Flores because of that deeply awkward mixup in Belichick's texts when he texted the wrong Coach Brian (Flores vs Daboll) and it ended up in a lawsuit.

But mostly just speculating.

 

[rodderick]

Fact remains he was part of two rings and pretty well liked.

Eh, I always thought he was a mediocre at best, passive DC whose defenses routinely outperformed their DVOA and EPA/Play in points allowed rankings due to probably the best stretch of offensive football in league history propping them up. Brady took the 30th and 31st ranked defenses by DVOA to the Super Bowl in 11 and 17. By far the worst play caller they've had at that spot in 25 years.

 

[lexrageorge]

Eh, Belichick had a reputation for being a huge advocate and mentor for his staff. Saban and others have talked about how her made calls on their behalf and tried to give them advice as they were preparing to take on head coaching roles elsewhere -- probably in direct contrast to Parcells, who according to many of them seemed to be dismissive of his assistant coaches.

Guys like Bill O'Brien, McDaniels, Patricia, Judge all left New England and returned when they flamed out elsewhere, which probably means they left on very good terms with BB and remained so.

I assume Flores and Mangini were sort of the exception of people who left the Belichick coaching tree and ended up breaking with him. Mangini because of Spygate, Flores because of that deeply awkward mixup in Belichick's texts when he texted the wrong Coach Brian (Flores vs Daboll) and it ended up in a lawsuit.

But mostly just speculating.

Daboll returned as well after originally leaving to join Mangini's staff. Jim Schwartz was also on good terms with Bill and stayed in touch throughout the years. I think his availability never quite lined up with any potential openings on Bill's staff in New England. Could also point out that Rob Ryan, former Belichick assistant, joined McDaniels staff in LV.

McDaniels, Patricia, Crennel, and Judge were not head coaching material, although sometimes coaching acumen is hidden by bad rosters (clearly the case with Nick Saban and the Dolphins, for example, and probably Brian Daboll currently). Anyway, coaching trees are often completely meaningless when it comes to predicting success or failure; being head coach in the NFL is simply hard.

Also, the Belichick/Mangini feud started before Spygate when Mangini left for the Jets, which Bill could not abide. There was clearly still some bad blood between Belichick and the Jets front office, and it all got magnified by Spygate.

 

[dynomite]

Daboll returned as well after originally leaving to join Mangini's staff. Jim Schwartz was also on good terms with Bill and stayed in touch throughout the years. I think his availability never quite lined up with any potential openings on Bill's staff in New England. Could also point out that Rob Ryan, former Belichick assistant, joined McDaniels staff in LV.

McDaniels, Patricia, Crennel, and Judge were not head coaching material, although sometimes coaching acumen is hidden by bad rosters (clearly the case with Nick Saban and the Dolphins, for example, and probably Brian Daboll currently). Anyway, coaching trees are often completely meaningless when it comes to predicting success or failure; being head coach in the NFL is simply hard.

Also, the Belichick/Mangini feud started before Spygate when Mangini left for the Jets, which Bill could not abide. There was clearly still some bad blood between Belichick and the Jets front office, and it all got magnified by Spygate.

Exactly.

I think even a lot of Pats fans struggle to realize that Belichick's grumpy mumbling during press conferences was just an act. As we see in documentaries and on media appearances now, Belichick is an engaging guy who loves talking football and has a large group of mentees across the NFL and college football.

 

[Salva135]

McDaniels, Patricia, and Judge were basically run out of town by the players when they were head coaches. Flores and BOB had difficult relationships with key players as well. Definitely a pattern but I bet this is true for most fired coaches.

All three of these guys had falling outs with their players that were notorious even by NFL standards. The joke about BB creating coaches who tried too hard to be like him was real. I suspect they all have rather specific personality characteristics that simply vibe with him that kept them so close to him.

 

[NortheasternPJ]

I don’t know what happened to Patricia when he went to Detroit but he seemed to be well liked in New England before he left. McCourty and many of the defensive players aways spoke highly of Matty P.

He was an asshole from day 1

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xP1oLv5gMX8


I haven’t had time to find it but he also put his Super Bowl rings in front of him and told the players to shut up until they get one.

Edit:
https://www.mlive.com/lions/2020/11/matt-patricias-reign-of-error-was-unraveling-before-it-even-began.html

 

[NortheasternPJ]

BB also said on the last Let’s Go! Podcast that either the Lions offensive line or entire team was built on what Patricia started even though Patricia ran them into the ground.

 

[jsinger121]

BB also said on the last Let’s Go! Podcast that either the Lions offensive line or entire team was built on what Patricia started even though Patricia ran them into the ground.

Zo and Beetle looked up and Patricia drafted only the center.

 

[Cellar-Door]

Zo and Beetle looked up and Patricia drafted only the center.

So of last year's team which went to the NFC title game. He drafted the LG and C, signed the RG, didn't draft the LT but did have him for his full tenure, drafted the SS and one of the corners, brought in some of the depth.

So... mostly wrong, but also not totally incorrect about the line in that 4/5 of the line from last year was there with Patricia

 

[shoosh77]

Might be late to this, but anyone see the DoorDash ad with Bill where he drops the “Let’s Party” line? He’s clearly in on the jokes.

 

[Gash Prex]

I love segments like this with BB - looks like a pre-game meeting room with Chris Long, and Ocho

 

[The Social Chair]

Belichick would be great on NFL Films productions. He's pretty mediocre as an analyst for the 2024 season.

 

[riboflav]

I’m just learning that Bill and Tom did a pod together one year ago.

 

[luckiestman]

Hey, is the murdering TE movie a spoof?


View: https://twitter.com/nfl_dovkleiman/status/1844081906595528896?s=46&t=WNUE08imv33kOt1BO6WMzQ

 

[E5 Yaz]

Hey, is the murdering TE movie a spoof?


View: https://twitter.com/nfl_dovkleiman/status/1844081906595528896?s=46&t=WNUE08imv33kOt1BO6WMzQ

Interview with the actor
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/american-sports-story-aaron-hernandez-bill-belichick-episode-1236027231/

 

[Bigdogx]

Might be late to this, but anyone see the DoorDash ad with Bill where he drops the “Let’s Party” line? He’s clearly in on the jokes.

He is so personality dry lol, his underdog betting commercial is just so monotone it is comical. Has me wondering if it is all a work.....