Logan Ryan thinks Bill Belichick broke his own rules with Patriots over political support
The former Patriots defensive back explained playing in New England under Belichick with a specific M. Night Shyamalan movie reference.
According to one former Patriots defensive back, Bill Belichick forgot to continue practicing what he preached toward the end of his time as head coach in New England.
Logan Ryan, who was drafted by the Patriots in 2013 and helped Belichick and New England win two Super Bowls before departing in free agency in 2017, was a recent guest on “The Herd With Colin Cowherd.” During the course of the interview, Ryan discussed Patriots coaches past and present.
Ryan was specifically asked if he noticed a “personality change” with the longtime coach, and why he thinks Belichick was “dismissive” at times in the latter portion of his Patriots career.
“During that time we dealt with the Aaron Hernandez situation and Deflategate, and I think that a lot of times it was ‘us against the world,'” said Ryan of his New England tenure. “He kept everything internal. So I did see the funny of Bill at times. I saw the lowlights, chewing guys out on film, but I also saw the lighthearted stuff. I had a great time there, won a lot of games.”
Referencing comments made by Patriots players in Apple TV+’s recent documentary series, “The Dynasty,” Ryan added that he could see “the turn” as Belichick drifted away from his own policy of not making noise in the media.
“I see kind of the turn of the political statements coming out from Bill, supporting Trump and whatnot, and we said, ‘We’re not going to talk about anybody’s own personal beliefs,’” Ryan explained. “I saw all that kind of [shake up] the locker room, like, ‘Hey we don’t talk about those things, why are you talking about those things?'”
After also adding that he felt his former team looked “tired” following a playoff loss at home to Ryan and the Titans in early 2020 (in which Ryan intercepted Tom Brady on the last pass of his Patriots career), the former defensive back offered some additional commentary on Belichick’s approach.
“He did a great job, if you think about it, of putting this camp around and not letting cameras inside,” said Ryan. “When Brady’s ‘Last Dance’ footage comes out, it’s going to be phenomenal. No cameras were in, you had no idea what was happening. He just focused on playing ball. It’s like the M. Night Shyamalan movie, ‘The Village,’ or whatever. You’re just living a certain way for so many years, then you just hop out like, ‘Oh there’s a Target across the street? I didn’t know. We were living like it was the 1990s.'”
“But times have changed,” Ryan added. “People want to talk about political views. Political views got into football. People want to do commercials. It’s OK to have your cellphone in a meeting. These things, employees in a workplace demand change, and I think as a boss you’ve got to understand that.”
That said, Ryan also praised Belichick capacity to get his team to singularly focus on football, and that his methods made “time stand still for 20 years.”
On the topic of Belichick’s successor, Jerod Mayo, Ryan is optimistic. He was Mayo’s teammate in New England prior to the now-coach’s retirement from playing after the 2015 season.
“Tremendous leader,” Ryan said of Mayo. “I think he’s relatable and smart enough to understand the current-day player, who’s different than when he played. I do think he understands these guys. I think he’s willing to listen to these guys, they’re already [talking about] the changes that are already felt around there.
“He’s a great worker, very smart. I think he’s put the time in,” said Ryan. “I think he has a great relationship with Robert Kraft, and I think that’ll allow him the patience that is needed to get through this process. They have to figure out the quarterback position. They drafted a guy in Drake Maye to help that.”
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