Bill Belichick Expands Upon 'It Is What It Is' Philosophy
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- To be sure, William Stephen Belichick was not the first man to utter the phrase, "It is what it is." Likewise, he didn't spend hours in a laboratory to come up with the motto of "Do your job." These are common sayings in the English language. Yet somewhere along the line, both became associated closely with the Patriots' head coach.
But, as a credit to Belichick, he's proven to be unsatisfied with stopping at the perfunctory use of trite clichés. As a coach, he's someone who always strives to be better. As an orator, he's taken on the same level of dedication.
That focus was on display on Wednesday morning, when Belichick strode to the podium at Gillette Stadium and answered a series of questions about his own team and about the Buffalo Bills, who will visit the Patriots on Sunday afternoon.
Specifically, Belichick was asked about how newcomer Barkevious Mingo might become more involved in the Patriots' defensive game-planning. The coach tapped into the time-space continuum for his answer.
"I think each week it's a different week, so I don't really know," Belichick said. "This week's different from last week, and next week will be different from this week."
Later, Belichick was asked if the Bills mix things up on defense than most other teams do. The coach interpreted the question as one that asked if the Bills were doing anything differently from what the Bills normally do. At least, that's what is to be assumed from his answer, which took "it is what it is" to a new level.
"I think relative to Buffalo, they're Buffalo," he said.
Profound.
And of course, a Belichick press conference wouldn't be complete with a solid "it is what it is." But Belichick made sure to even tweak that old standby just a bit, so as not to get stale, when asked if he took particular pride in what the coaching staff and the team has been able to accomplish in the absence of Tom Brady.
"Whatever happened in the past, whatever it is, it is," he said. "Nothing we can do about it. We're moving on."
If Belichick ever decides to walk away from the game of football, he can take solace in knowing that with philosophies like that, he'll be able to keep himself busy by training Padawans to become Jedi Knights.
