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Brian Belichick explains why he stuck with Patriots after his father, brother’s exit
"I think it was good for us to have some separation from being in a football building every day, seeing each other."
Plenty has changed for Brian Belichick over the past few months.
Now in his fifth year as the Patriots safeties coach, Belichick no longer shares the same offices as his father, Bill, and older brother, Steve.
New England parted ways with Bill Belichick in January after 24 seasons in Foxborough, while Steve Belichick joined the University of Washington as their defensive coordinator the following month.
Given all of the family upheaval at Gillette Stadium, it would have made plenty of sense for Brian Belichick to follow suit and take up coaching elsewhere.
But speaking Wednesday before the Patriots’ latest OTA session, Brian Belichick stressed that New England is where he wants to be — especially after his wife, Callie, gave birth to their daughter this offseason.
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“I was thankful and happy to get the opportunity to coach here and was thankful and happy to take advantage of it and take (Mayo) up on it,” Belichick said Wednesday. “I have a lot of gratitude in my life right now with my daughter, my job, being here, living in this area. I love it. I just hope I can contribute to help us be the best team we can this year.”
“He’s been fantastic,” Mayo added of Brian Belichick’s return. “There are other guys in the organization that it has been a little awkward for him, and those guys have handled it the right way. Look, Brian loves football, and he loves New England. I think I talked about this a little bit earlier — a guy, new baby, loves it up here, and wants to stay. We’re happy that he’s here.”
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Even though both Belichick brothers carved out their coaching careers under the tutelage of their father in Foxborough, Brian acknowledged that his relationship with Bill has improved now that they no longer share the same working space, day in and day out.
“This is getting a little personal about our family dynamics, but in a way, I think it was good for us to have some separation from being in a football building every day, seeing each other,” Brian Belichick said. “Whereas now, we’re not just connected by football.
“Not that it was that way before, but we talk about other things because we’re in different places and not the same place every day. There’s a lot to talk about football-wise, so it was hard not to get caught up with that when you saw each other at work every day.”
Brian Belichick knows that the links to his father will remain a talking point moving forward. But much like his father, he didn’t want to spend much time elaborating on things such as New England’s coaching changes.
“I have spent a lot of time just worrying about getting myself right. So as far as evaluation on head-coaching style, etc. I’ll leave that to you guys,” Brian Belichick said. “I think we’re a very well-coached team. I think that starts with Jerod. We’re all following his example. So we’re all trying to live up to very high expectations that obviously was built here through the years.
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“My dad was the head coach, but that’s just the legacy of the franchise. Everyone is trying to live up to every day, just for themselves. … It’s more about everyone just trying to be excellent every day and get the Patriots to the standard that we all expect them to be.”
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