Bill Belichick focused on Jets, but shows brief appreciation for Patriots, fans ahead of possible final game
Belichick, nursing an illness, wasn't overly sentimental when he spoke with reporters on Friday, but briefly showed gratitude.
Bill Belichick could be coaching his final game with the Patriots on Sunday. But before his team took the practice field one last time this season, he didn’t want to focus too much on the potential sentimental aspect of their game against the Jets.
The Patriots coach briefly showed gratitude when asked what it’s meant to him to be in the position he’s been in for the last 24 years before turning his focus back on the Jets.
“I’ve always appreciated the opportunity,” Belichick said. “Just looking forward to Sunday’s game against the Jets. Like I said, just trying to put our best game out there this year. That’s what we’re working toward. I’m sure there will be another time to talk about other things, but right now, we’re just trying to focus on the Jets.”
At 4-12, the Patriots enter Sunday’s game already clinching the worst record in Belichick’s 24 years with the team, a far cry from the six Super Bowl-winning seasons. As the Patriots hit the lowest valley of Belichick’s time in New England, rumors have percolated that this will be his last season with the team, whether he gets fired or gets traded to coach another team.
With uncertainty looming beyond Sunday’s game, Belichick was asked if he’s ever taken a step back and just appreciated what he’s accomplished during his time with the Patriots recently. But the coach continued to keep the focus on Sunday’s game.
“I think I’ve covered that multiple times over the years,” he said. “For right now, we’ll keep it on the Jets and go forward with that.”
While Sunday’s game could be the last for Belichick with the Patriots, it could also be the final time several other players put on a Patriots jersey in Foxborough. Aging veterans, such as Matthew Slater and David Andrews, could choose to hang up their cleats after Sunday’s game, while impending free agents, like Kyle Dugger and Hunter Henry, aren’t guaranteed to return next season.
But that isn’t what’s on Belichick’s mind right now.
“This week is about preparing for the Jets,” he said. “And then, there are a few things that happen after this game that we have to take care of. That’s really the foreseeable future.”
Belichick was also dealing with an illness as he spoke with reporters on Friday, bad enough to move the press conference from in-person to over Zoom. He coughed on numerous occasions in between questions, admittedly saying he’s “not feeling too good.”
“Thought I’d spare everybody in the first couple rows from all the coughing, sneezing,” Belichick quipped.
But it doesn’t seem like Belichick’s illness is bad enough to put him on the injury report.
“I expect to,” Belichick said when asked if he expects to be on the sideline on Sunday. “Thank you, appreciate it.”
It’s unknown who would fill in if Belichick’s illness is bad enough to cause him to miss Sunday’s game. But it could give inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo a possible trial run of what it’s like to be a head coach in an NFL game. Mayo has interviewed for a few head coaching jobs over the last few years and has been speculated to be Belichick’s heir apparent in New England.
Belichick was asked if he thought Mayo would make a good coach someday, which he turned into an opportunity to speak highly of the Patriots’ entire coaching staff.
“I think we have a lot of coaches on our staff who are good coaches,” he responded. “I’m not really positioned to comment on other teams and what they’re looking for or aren’t looking for. But yeah, I think we’ve got a lot of good coaches on our staff, Jerod being one of them.”
Another possible element that could raise the profile of Sunday’s game, which is between two teams that have won a combined 10 games this season, is the weather. Recent forecasts suggest that Foxborough could receive nearly a foot of snow during this weekend’s projected storm, which is expected to last through Sunday.
Earlier in the week, Patriots rookies showcased snow scrapers they got from the team to prepare for this weekend. As for on-field prep, Belichick isn’t going to go over the top.
“We’re not going to create snow and get a snow machine in here,” Belichick said. “Depending on what the conditions are, we can certainly talk about it and show examples of what playing in different types of conditions is like as a reminder for everybody.”
If the weather projections come to fruition, Sunday would just be the latest chapter that fans have flocked to Foxborough in spite of the conditions during Belichick’s two dozen years on the job.
As his press conference wound down on Friday, Belichick simply described the Patriots’ fanbase with one adjective.
“Passionate. Very passionate.”
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