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Patriots players reflect on Bill Belichick’s impact as he enters uncertain future
"You would have thought we were getting ready to go and play in the AFC Championship Game."
FOXBOROUGH — Defeat was all but inevitable for the Patriots in the closing minutes of Sunday’s snow-swept showdown against the Jets.
New England — having gained a whopping 121 net yards on offense in their season finale — trailed New York, 17-3, with just 18 seconds left on the clock.
But down to the final seconds of what might be his final season patrolling the Patriots’ sideline, Bill Belichick continued to coach — frantically trying to catch the attention of return man Jalen Reagor and get him to reposition himself ahead of what was ultimately a meaningless kickoff.
Such a response in the midst of a lopsided score didn’t come as much of a surprise to Matthew Slater.
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“I saw no quit in Bill Belichick this season,” Slater said following New England’s season-ending loss to New York on Sunday. “As a team, I think we’re a reflection of our coach in that we competed all the way to the end, regardless of the scoreboard, regardless of our record., regardless of what was going on around us, we kept fighting.
“And I think a lot of that can be attributed to the man who is steering the ship. So for us, we see him every day coming here. If [you] had sat in these team meetings this week, you would have thought we were getting ready to go and play in the AFC Championship Game. That’s how he’s coaching the team.”
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Of course, the stakes were far less impactful for Belichick and his players in the days leading up to Sunday’s snoozer. New England was officially eliminated from the playoffs weeks ago, with the Patriots now bounced from playoff contention three times in the past four seasons.
New England is now nine games under .500 since Tom Brady headed to Tampa in March 2020.
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And as a sullen Patriots locker room tried to come to terms with a last-place, 4-13 season, New England’s on-field leadership will also have to weigh a future where their longtime head coach is no longer steering the ship.
Some of Belichick’s players took a page out of his postgame script when it came to harping on his impact in New England.
“Shook his hand, like I always do,” David Andrews said of his final message to Belichick.
“If it is, it isn’t — I’m sure they’ll decide that in the offseason,” Bailey Zappe said of Belichick’s future. “For me, I was just trying to win. Didn’t do enough, obviously.”
“I love playing for him… At the end of the day, it ain’t my job to make those type of decisions,” Jabrill Peppers added about Belichick’s ability to orchestrate a roster rebuild. “My job is to go out there and leave it all on the field week in and week out.”
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Of course, it was to be expected for Slater — who played for Belichick in 239 career games — to sing the praises of his head coach.
But Ezekiel Elliott — who played 16 games for Belichick in 2023 — shared a similar sentiment of appreciation.
“I just feel so very lucky,” Elliott said. “So very lucky to play for the best coach ever. And you can tell just by the way he attacks every day, the way he demands excellence from everyone and everything you do, from top to bottom. I mean, he just loves to coach and you’re going to be coached up. So I’m very appreciative to be able to play for him. … I was expecting a great coach, and that’s what he was.
“I didn’t expect him to be as sarcastic, as funny — the way he coaches me. He’s gonna get on you, but he’ll build you up too at the same time and that’s what we all need and want as football players.”
Patriots defensive captain Ja’Whaun Bentley has progressed from a fifth-round draft pick into a run-stopping stalwart over his six seasons playing for Belichick.
“Just him just being a dynamic coach,” Bentley said. “He’s been able to, I guess, create the leadership aspect that comes along with the games. Certain things you can’t necessarily coach, but you can kind of tell players how to think about certain situations and he’s been huge in that aspect.”
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Kyle Dugger also preached the mental aspect of football that Belichick has ingrained in his players.
“I think it’s something to look at as an example to follow,” Dugger said of Belichick’s ability to tune out the noise regarding his job security. “You just kind of ignore everything that’s going on outside and just try to focus on what’s going on in here and moving forward and progressing, so I think it was good to have that example.”
Robert Kraft and the Patriots’ ownership have some hard truths to confront in the coming days as the franchise decides the next course of action with its legendary head coach.
Years of poor personnel decisions and lackluster drafting from Belichick might have spurred the end of an era in Foxborough.
But as New England weighs its options, Slater believes that the only coach he ever played for in the NFL ranks still commands plenty of respect — even during a season where little went right.
“He didn’t shut it down and I have so much respect for him, especially in a year like this,” Slater said. “Again, when you’re winning and you’re doing well and you’re going to Super Bowls everybody’s having a good time.
“You guys are pumping us up… But when you’re in moments like this, you find out who people are. And I certainly found out a lot about Bill Belichick this year.”
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