How Bill Belichick answered the pressing questions the Patriots face this offseason
Seven weeks after Tom Brady’s Hail Mary landed incomplete, several questions remain unanswered in New England. In his first remarks since the day after Super Bowl LII, Bill Belichick stepped to the plate and responded.
Belichick spoke to reporters Sunday at the NFL’s annual meeting in Orlando, Florida. He was asked about the decision to bench Malcolm Butler, the uncertain futures of both Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, and Josh McDaniels’ return to the Patriots. The Patriots’ head coach answered, but kept the bat on his shoulder for one question about his contingency plans at tight end.
“The slider coming in on the outside corner?” Belichick asked. “I think I just covered that.”
Here are Belichick’s remarks, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss:
On Malcolm Butler’s benching in Super Bowl LII
I have a lot of respect for Malcolm. From the day he got here, in rookie minicamp four years ago, he’s always competed as hard as he could. He always is a great competitor on the field. I totally respect that. I’m not going to get into last year, I’m not going to get into next year or some other year. I talked to Malcolm. I wish him well in Tennessee. Obviously, [head coach] Mike [Vrabel] and [general manager] Jon [Robinson] are great people I have a lot of respect for in that organization. I have a lot of respect for Malcolm. We wish him well.
On Josh McDaniels’ decision to reverse course after the Super Bowl and re-join the Patriots
Once that game ended, I think that really gave Josh and I a chance to sit down [Tuesday] and talk more directly about the situation, as opposed to, ‘We really want to talk about the game and what we need to do to try to compete in that game.’ That’s basically what happened. Before the game, I’d say we had minimal discussions. I’d say we had much deeper and longer and more in-depth and more constructive discussions immediately after the game.
On whether Rob Gronkowski has informed him of his future plans
I’m not going to speak for anybody else. So, conversations I’ve had with the players — and I’ve had a lot of them — I will keep those private between myself and the player. I respect those coach-to-player conversations. I don’t want to speak for anybody else.
On Tom Brady’s remarks in the final episode of ‘Tom vs Time’
I’ve had direct conversations with Tom, many times, obviously, through a long period of time. I’ll rely on those conversations that I have with him directly rather than something else. Tom and I have always had a good line of communication. We’ve always been able to talk directly to each other. I don’t see that changing. So I’ll rely on those instead of anything else.
On his offseason preparations for the draft and free agency
It’s the same thing every year, really. Starting all over again. We’ve won the last game. We’ve lost it. That is what it is. Last year is last year. It’s an exciting time of year on the team-building. There are a lot of things we still have to do, so right now it’s about acquiring a lot of information, putting things in place, and figuring out what the steps are in the appropriate time to address them.
