A former Patriots assistant offered a theory about Bill Belichick’s stare
"I’ve seen that stare before," Michael Lombardi said.
At the end of a pregame interview on Sunday, CBS reporter Dana Jacobson asked Bill Belichick about the decision to release wide receiver Antonio Brown.
Belichick responded by simply saying, “Yeah, we’re focused on the Jets.” As Jacobson then thanked the Patriots coach for his time, Belichick hesitated and stared at Jacobson.
The stare drew some criticism from other members of the media, including The Atlantic staff writer Jemele Hill, who called it “weak and unprofessional.”
Dana did her job. This is what you get paid to do as a journalist. Those in power have to be held accountable. It’s fine if he chooses not to answer the question. That stare was weak and unprofessional. https://t.co/5kGySyTTgs
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 22, 2019
On a recent episode of his podcast, “The GM Shuffle,” former NFL general manager (and ex-Patriots assistant) Michael Lombardi guessed as to the circumstances that made Belichick upset.
“He doesn’t have to do a pregame interview,” Lombardi theorized. “He grants that, right? So I’m sure he probably said to CBS — he did a favor for them — [he said] ‘I’ll do it, as long as we don’t talk about Antonio Brown.’ This is just Michael Lombardi guessing, and I’m not shilling for Bill Belichick because he’s my friend, but I’ve seen that look before, and that look was, ‘I thought we covered this.'”
“That look was, “‘I thought we went over this,'” Lombardi reiterated. “And we didn’t. And then that question came up.”
Lombardi questioned the logic behind Belichick even doing the interview in the first place, concurring with Jacobson about the line of questioning.
“I don’t know why he agreed to do it. Dana Jacobson, if she has him, she has to ask the question,” Lombardi said.
“But, there had to be a reason, because I’ve seen that stare before and I think he was crossed up, and I think that stare was, ‘You said one thing, and this happened.’ Again, this is just my opinion based on what I saw.”
Jacobson responded to the discussion in a tweet Monday:
I did my job yesterday. Coach did his. End of story. You know what I didn’t like? Rambling through the start of my Ty Law interview. Wish I could do that over. 🤨 Social media & sports radio can continue the discussion.. I’m going to go get ready for my wedding Saturday. 👰🏻😃❤️
— Dana Jacobson (@danajacobson) September 23, 2019
Jacobson’s fiancé is Sean Grande, the play-by-play radio voice of the Celtics. He made a joke about the incident Sunday, also referencing their big day.
“I guess that’s why he didn’t send his RSVP,” Grande quipped.
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