Cam Newton: Bill Belichick 'most misunderstood person in all of sports'

“This is why I love and respect — I think Bill Belichick is the most misunderstood person in all of sports,” Newton said, as transcribed by CBS Boston. “He dope as [bleep]. He dope. Like, he is a cool dude. He understands the game. He’s like a historian of the game. And for you to just sit down and chat with him, it’s like damn, he’s going back and he’s got film like, literally teaching the game.”

Newton also spoke positively about “The Patriot Way,” the supposed long-running edict through which Belichick has achieved such longstanding organizational excellence with the team. It seems that Newton might be attempting to ingratiate himself to Belichick, who will have the final say on whether the quarterback is back with New England next season.

If it were up to Newton, though, he would be the Patriots’ starting quarterback when the 2021 NFL season kicks off.

“Yes. Hell yes,” Newton said. “I’m getting tired of changing. I’m at a point in my career where I know way more than I knew last year. Now you give me [a full offseason and OTAs] … a system with me. You know what I’m saying? Like, they know me.”

Belichick has long cultivated a gruff persona and a football-only, no-nonsense approach to coaching. It was believed that Newton’s outgoing personality and carefree style would not mesh well with Belichick’s curmudgeonly ways. That does not appear to be the case.

What’s more, Newton believes there’s much more to Belichick than meets the eye. To be fair to Belichick, there have been examples over the years of the iconic head coach playing against type, so perhaps Newton is correct in his assessment of how the Patriots boss is inaccurately portrayed.