Wes Welker On His Relationship With Former Patriots Teammates And Future In Coaching

BOSTON (CBS) -- Former New England Patriots receiver Wes Welker has gotten a taste of coaching at the NFL level in recent months, in addition to his experience playing for other teams post-Patriots. Joining Toucher & Rich in studio, Welker talked about his plans for the future and how he may venture into coaching, as well as his relationships with former teammates and coaches on the Patriots.

When Welker was asked if he still speaks to Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who seemed to have a notably contentious relationship with him, he said he hasn't spoken to Belichick since "right before" he signed with the Denver Broncos in 2013 - but it's not for any particular reason and the two may meet again in the future.

"If something came up, I wouldn't feel like I couldn't [reach out]," said Welker, who added that he connects with the Krafts "every once in a while" and keeps more in touch with former teammates like Tom Brady, Matt Cassel, Tedy Bruschi, and others.

Welker joined the Dolphins and Ravens for guest coaching jobs in June - jokingly promising that he's not a spy for the Patriots - and would not get into details of how things operate between different coaching staffs but commented on the grueling life of an NFL coach in general, and how he would rather do what they do than do nothing associated with pro football.

The lifestyle of NFL coaches is incredibly demanding and time-consuming, with most head coaches getting minimal sleep and focusing on football nearly 24/7 for all but five weeks out of the year. Welker wants something to do but does he enjoy the time required to commit to coaching?

"I loved every aspect of [coaching], except that," said Welker. "That was eye-opening for me. ... As coaches you do get those five weeks during the summer where you're basically off and not doing anything, but yeah, during the season? It's three hours of sleep and right back at it."

Fred Toucher asked Welker if it gets to a point where coaches prepare too much and whether an overabundance of information can end up hurting teams. Welker said it's not so much about information as it is setting a tone for guys to grind and work as hard as they can at all times.

"It's almost like you're creating a culture within the coaching," said Welker. "So, the head coach is a grinder and he grinds and grinds and grinds. Well, now, everybody underneath him is like, 'Well, I've got to go grind.' And all of a sudden you have a coach who doesn't do that, and now everybody else underneath him isn't doing that, and so he's out the door.

"Do I think [coaches] really have to [work as long as they do]? No, but if you start having all the coaches sit there and take three hours off that they normally wouldn't then I think you're just creating a culture of ... 'It's not a grind, it's just a job, it doesn't really mean as much.' ... But do I think they overdo it sometimes? Absolutely."

The guys couldn't let a Welker visit go by without asking ... what's the deal with Julian Edelman? The man who's taken Welker's job has also seemed to have made it a habit of doing a lot of things that Brady does ... or Photoshopping himself into pictures of Brady and Justin Timberlake.

Rich asked Welker if there's a "Single White Female" situation going on there.

"It's a little too obvious," Welker said of Edelman's Brady impression. "I think it's been noticed. I don't know, I think it's like going and getting Advil, and then there's like the Walgreens prescription next to it."

It only took a few hours for Edelman to respond to Welker's comment on Twitter:

Listen to the full interview below:

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