Belichick Bill - Patriot reign: Bill Belichick, the coaches, and the players who built a champion

BillBelichick believes that his former boss, Bill Parcells , was not focused during his one trip to the Super Bowl with the Patriots in1997. Belichick says that Parcells approach was inappropriate and thatParcells was entertaining offers from other teams.

There was a tense behind-the-scenes drama going on betweenBelichick, Drew Bledsoe and, to a degree, offensivecoordinator Charlie Weis . This was in 2001, when Bledsoe lost hisjob to Tom Brady. The quarterback blamed the coach, and the coach said thehostility was tangible. There was discomfort in the room, Belichicksaid.

A Houston gunman, caught on the players floor of theCarolina Panthers hotel prior to Super Bowl XXXVIII, could have become thebiggest story of Super Bowl Week. When Belichick found out about the storythree days before the game, he told his team not to worry.He anticipated the story becoming a huge media distraction, but it never broke.The Houston police department says the investigation remains active and hasdenied access to the police report.

Patriots owner RobertKraft and his son, Jonathan, always knew they wanted to hire Belichick,but when it appeared that they would not be able to spring him from hiscontract with the New York Jets in 2000, they began to look elsewhere. Theirleading candidate was never mentioned in the paperit was ButchDavis , then coach of the University of Miami and now head coach of theCleveland Browns.

Late in the 2002 season, Belichick had much moreimportant things than football on his mind. Prior to a Monday night game withTennessee, he traveled to a small town named Monterey to visit his cousin forthe last time. Jean Freeman was terminally illshe had pancreaticcancerand the last conversation between the cousins showed a side of Belichickthat few people have ever seen.

One of the biggest upsets insports history, the Patriots Super Bowl XXXVI win over the St. Louis Rams,began to take shape five days before the game. Thats when Belichick, his topadviser ( Ernie Adams ) and defensive coordinator RomeoCrennel crafted a plan to deconstruct the Rams, a plan which began withthe unconventional decision to pressure the running back rather than thequarterback and ended with Adam Vinatieri s 48-yard field goal towin it.

There is a manual that explicitly describes the Patriotstype of player. In it, the reader is introduced to the Patriots scoutingsystem. We learn the difference between, for example, aDirty Starter and a Make It-Plus player. The manual was tweakedwhen Scott Pioli , Ernie Adams, and Belichick arrived in New Englandin 2000. The irony is that the description they wrote for quarterbacksprior tothe arrival of Tom Brady fits Brady, Pioli says, to a T.

In addition to expertly analyzing other teams during the week, thePatriots coaching staff is skilled at breaking down their own team. They holdevaluation meetings in which every player on the roster has his strengths andweaknesses analyzed in a detailed report. Some players enjoy hearing what theircoaches think of them. Others, such as one tackle who was called the ultimatecoach- killer, did not.

Belichick held a grudge against ESPN andNFL analyst Tom Jackson for most of the 2003 season. He privatelyfumed over Jacksons September comment that the Patriots hate their coach.Belichick waited for a legitimate Jackson apology and, when it never came, heresented the network for enabling such commentary, which he deemedirresponsible. After the Patriots win over the Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII,Belichick agreed to do an interview with his longtime friend, ESPNs ChrisBerman . Jackson was not part of the interview, and the two men exchangedwords before it began.