Bill Belichick made a comment this week about the current state of the New England Patriots that many people found surprising, and the remark drew criticism from team legend Tedy Bruschi.
Belichick was asked at the NFL owners meetings on Monday if Patriots fans have reason to feel optimistic about the direction of the team. The 70-year-old coach said “the last 25 years” should give fans in New England confidence.
Bruschi, a former Patriots linebacker who played nine seasons and won three Super Bowls under Belichick, called out his former coach during Tuesday’s edition of “Get Up!” on ESPN. He said Belichick boasting about 25 years of success was hypocritical.
“I don’t know how many times I’ve been in meetings with Coach Belichick and the very first meeting is, ‘I don’t care about anything in the past. We win Super Bowls. Last year doesn’t matter. Pro Bowls don’t matter, All-Pros don’t matter. Everything you’ve done last year doesn’t matter, fellas. It’s about who we are going forward,” Bruschi said, via NESN’s Adam London. “This is what the good teams do. Players hold coaches accountable also when they get off-message. Right now, Coach Belichick is off-message.
“That is something that his players shouldn’t hear — that he is basing some optimism to fans on ‘what I’ve done the last 25 years.’ I don’t know if I’ve ever heard Bill mention something like that in terms of his whole body of work. It was surprising to me.”
The comment was certainly out of character for Belichick. The future Hall of Fame coach almost always refuses to talk about the past. That is why even former Patriots leaders never received an answer to one of the most puzzling questions in franchise history.
Belichick is probably tired of Patriots fans and the media expecting perfection every season, but he takes that same approach with his players. That is why Bruschi was bothered by Belichick’s “last 25 years” remark.
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