Bill Belichick Doesn't Budge When Asked About Malcolm Butler's Super Bowl Benching
By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) --Why didn't Malcolm Butler play in Super Bowl LII?
It remains one of the biggest mysteries in New England Patriots history. And it will remain that way, because head coach Bill Belichick doesn't want to talk about the past.
The 2018 season officially kicked off for the Patriots Wednesday morning, with players returning to Gillette Stadium for the start of training camp. Belichick had his opening chat with the media before the team held their first meetings of the new year, greeting them with a smile and a jovial "Happy training camp."
From there, per usual, Belichick only wanted to talk about what's ahead. But as expected, and as it should have, Butler's Super Bowl benching came up. And as expected, Belichick offered no new info as to why he kept one of his best defensive players on the bench as the Philadelphia Eagles lit up the New England secondary in the biggest game of the year.
Peppered with questions about his decision by the Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy, Belichick made it clear he wasn't there to talk about last season.
"We've talked about that. That was multiple months ago," he said. "I'm focused on training camp."
Asked if he would do anything differently, Belichick played coy with the inquiry.
"In training camp? We're just getting started, we'll do the best we can," replied Belichick.
From there, Shaughnessy chose to go with the fan angle, telling Belichick that even his most ardent disciples want to know "why," or at least some clarity on his baffling decision. Still, Belichick didn't budge.
"I'm focused on the best that I can for the 2018 New England Patriots. That's my job, that's what I'm going to do and that's what I've done in the past. Every day I've coached here I've done the best I can for this football team," he said. "I'm focused on the 2018 season, not 2017, not 2014, not 2007, not 2004, not 2001, not 2000. I'm not focused on any of those seasons, they're done.
"It's important for me to have a good season in 2018 and I'll do everything I can to do that -- the best I can for our football team," he continued. "That's my job and my responsibility and that's what I want to do. Hopefully you can respect that, but maybe not."
So there you have it. The biggest enigma surrounding one of the most successful franchises in NFL history will continue to be just that. Since Belichick won't answer any questions about it, fans and the media will continue to speculate why Malcolm Butler watched Super Bowl LII from the bench.
It would have been great to be given a clear-cut explanation, extinguishing all the rumors and hearsay on the situation. But given the head coach's approach to every season since he took over in New England, did we really expect anything different Wednesday morning?