Former New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty had a great reaction to Bill Belichick’s comments at the NFL annual meeting.
The Patriots coach was asked why fans should trust him, as the team enters a crucial 2023 season. The coach gave a rather pointed answer, and did so in Belichickian fashion.
“The last 25 years,” said Belichick.
McCourty spent a decade-plus under the coach and understands exactly what Belichick’s mindset is behind the scenes. It is perhaps that mental image that made the former safety laugh so much.
It’s a fair question, given that the AFC East is going to be tighter than ever in 2023. McCourty gave his take during Tuesday’s episode of ESPN’s Get Up, as transcribed by NESN.com’s Dakota Randall.
“I died laughing,” McCourty said. “Watching it, seeing as Mike asked that question, in (Belichick’s) head I’m picturing him like, ‘I don’t care.’ He doesn’t care what the fans think. He doesn’t care if they’re gonna get excited, not get excited, coming to the game. Bill doesn’t think about the business of football. He thinks about putting a winning football team on the field. So when he sat there and was like, ‘I don’t know, 25 years,’ I was like, ‘Yeah, Bill! Talk! Let ’em know who you are. Have fun.’
“And I heard you guys on here chirping earlier. He’s not going into the locker room telling his guys, ‘Let’s focus on 25 (years).’ He’s gonna be on those guys, he’s gonna be telling them what they need to do, how to win football games. He doesn’t care about the last 25 years when it comes to his football team. But when it comes to the fans … he doesn’t care about those things. When he talks to his team, though, he’s gonna be demanding.”
Given Belichick’s coaching style, this point of view is also very much valid. New England will have their work cut out for them this season, as they are projected to have the fifth-hardest schedule in the NFL.
Nevertheless, new acquisitions and a chance to pick highly in this April’s draft could make the 2023 season run much smoother. It will be interesting to see what happens, as the organization enters a crucial point in many respects.
