Ex-Patriots Reporter Shares Why Life in Bill Belichick's Locker Room Felt 'Miserable'

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sami Haider | Last updated Apr 19, 2026 8:20 AM ET

Bill Belichick served as the head coach of the New England Patriots for 24 seasons. In this long tenure, he led the team to six Super Bowl championships. And his 333 career wins rank second all‑time, behind only Don Shula’s 347.

But at the same time, he also earned a reputation as the hardest coach in the NFL to cover. A former Patriots reporter recently explained on a podcast how bleak the environment really was when he was with the franchise.

In 2020, Nick Underhill left The Athletic after less than a year covering the Patriots. He had previously covered the New Orleans Saints for The Advocate, and he decided to move back there again to launch his own site.

On a recent podcast with Tyrann Mathieu, Underhill was blunt about why he left. He called covering Bill Belichick "miserable," describing a locker room where players were coached to stay silent. Underhill realized he was happier covering a team that actually spoke, so he quit to work for himself.

Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick on the sidelines in 2023.© Robert Deutsch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Covering [Bill] Belichick [expletive]," Underhill said. "You're in that locker room, and it's just like no one's saying [anything]. It's hard, man. It was miserable. And it's just like, I'm doing this, I hate it, I was happier there, and I didn't realize how much I loved to be here until I left."

His remarks match what the other reporters have said for years. Belichick's short one-word answers were a core part of the Patriots' identity. His "We’re on to Cincinnati" response in 2014 remains one of the most famous non-answers in sports.

One analysis of nearly 1,000 media events found 49 times where Belichick answered a question with just a single word. And like the majority of the reporters, Underhill also does not like that experience much.

His bio on the new site jokes that he’s covered the team since 2014, "except for that one year when he took a very long vacation." He’s clearly found his groove again, recently publishing a 3,000-word deep dive on which draft prospects best fit Saints quarterback Tyler Shough.

Meanwhile, Belichick has moved on from the NFL. After 24 seasons with the Patriots, he took the head coaching job at the North Carolina Tar Heels in late 2024. His college debut was disappointing as the school finished 4-8.

To make matters worse, he was surprisingly snubbed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility as he fell short of the required 40 votes. He’s now heading into his second year in Chapel Hill, looking to turn things around.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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