Bill Belichick Works Overtime At Friday Presser, Gives History Lesson On Steelers
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Bill Belichick has appeared to have an extra pep in his step at this week's pressers. Surely he must be happy celebrating the birth of his granddaughter, but he must also feel good about how his football team is preparing for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
As is usually the case, Belichick has often given extended, thoughtful answers to good football questions. He loves to comment on the history of the game, as well, so you knew he would have lots of interesting stuff to say when asked about former Steelers head coach Chuck Noll.
Belichick had the opportunity coach two games against Noll in 1991, which was both Belichick's first year with the Cleveland Browns and Noll's final year with the Steelers. The Browns split the season series with their then-AFC Central division rival. In Belichick's first season in the NFL in 1975, his Baltimore Colts got stomped 28-10 in the divisional round by the Steelers, who went on to beat the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl X. In 1978, when Belichick was a defensive assistant for the Denver Broncos, the Steelers beat Denver 21-17 in Week 16.
Needless to say, Belichick greatly admires the former Steelers coach, who also won four Super Bowl rings. A reporter asked Belichick if he would "indulge" him on a history question, and boy did he ever.
After name-dropping some of the other coaches that he learned from about the Steelers, Belichick explained what he liked the most about Noll, and you can tell that he emulated those '70s Steelers teams with a lot of his coaching philosophies in New England.
"[I have] great respect for Coach Noll. He was a very intelligent guy. He had a great way of mixing football with life. Football's important, football was – not trying to make it insignificant – but he had a lot of other interests and he was very diverse. [He] had a lot of diverse interests as well, a very food fundamental coach."
He made direct references to how he learned a lot about his own football teams from coaching against Noll's Steelers in the preseason.
When I was with the Giants we always played the Steelers in preseason every year – the Rooney/Mara family relationship. We always played them and so that was always a great preseason game for us because you could really kind of measure your team even though it was a preseason game. It was usually the third game. Usually the starters played into the third quarter and it was a very competitive game that kind of gave you a good sense of where your team was going up against a physical, well-coached, tough football team, especially when it was on the road in Pittsburgh when you have to deal with being on the road and the fans and so forth.
Then he explained why when he says the Steelers have always been the same, he means that as a compliment.
I've learned from competing against the Steelers going back to Coach Noll and then Coach Cowher. I've learned a lot because they've been so consistent. They've stayed very much the same; three coaches in the last – I don't know, whatever – 40 years or however long it's been, a long time. Because of their consistency I've learned a lot from studying that organization and I think Coach Noll was just – did a tremendous job. He had great stability, very good fundamental coach. He believed in what he believed in and they got good at it and they always had tough, physical, hard-nosed, smart football players.
He even referenced that playoff game with the Colts and Steelers.
We really had a chance in that game. I think it was like, 17-13, I think it was in the fourth quarter. We drive down, we're on the like five or six-yard line, whatever it was, and they intercepted, ran it back for a touchdown. So instead of going ahead, now we're down by two scores and we end up getting beat. For my first year in the league, the point being for my first year in the league, just seeing how good they were, I mean, they were so good on defense. ... They were very – when you're a young coach and you're looking at, OK – who does things in a way that you admire or respect or want to emulate, or what can you take from a good program to help you as a coach, or if you ever get a chance, what would you do that they do? They were one of those teams.
After the lengthy exchanges on the Steelers, Belichick realized he had taken up his allotted time for the press conference. So in a rare move, he decided to stay late and answer a few more questions. The PR staff stepped in to cut the conference off about 21 minutes in, to which Belichick interjected, "I'll take a couple more if you want. I know I had a couple long answers there. That's usually a problem with me."
He continued to speak at length, only this time on topics like LeGarrette Blount, Duron Harmon, and Elandon Roberts. But no answer was nearly as fascinating as what he had to say about the Steelers. If you want to learn more about where Belichick got a lot of the philosophies, strategies, and techniques he employs as a head coach, Noll's Steelers (and the entire organization) are a good starting point.
Belichick's uncommon graciousness was a pleasure to hear. Yet another piece of proof that if you ask him for a history lesson on football, he will give you one and it will be epic. Can't wait for Belichick to write his first football book.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.