Projo Pats Blog

FOXBORO - John Molori, a sports media writer who contributes to the Journal, has a terrific interview with author David Halberstam. Halberstam's soon-to-be-released book, "The Making of a Coach" investigates how Bill Belichick came into being.

Here's some excerpts from the must-read interview:

John Molori: What drew you to Bill Belichick as a book topic?
David Halberstam: I had watched Bill for more than 20 years. Those New York Giant defenses made a habit of taking away what other teams loved to do. Bill didn’t look very coach-like. There was something different. He is very hard on himself and is the hardest working man I’ve ever seen with great discipline, strength and vision. Most coaches delegate. He doesn’t. I just found him very smart and interesting.

JM: Why did such a private man like Belichick agree to participate in the book?
DH: A mutual friend brought us together about 18 months ago. Bill tells his players not to have ego, so he had reservations about the book. I asked if he would agree to do it as an “as told to” book with the emphasis on his education from his father and other coaches he has known. In June of 2004, he agreed to do the book. Still, he was not looking forward to the concept of promoting the book during the season, so we pulled way back. We basically wrote the book between May and July of this year.

JM: You mentioned ego. Tell me about that in the context of Belichick.
DH: If Bill could get Randy Moss or Terrell Owens for $1.5 million a year, he would not do it. If one player takes up too much oxygen, it is not good. He looks for players who accept the concept of team. Bill, himself, has a tremendous ego, but it manifests itself in the concept of team. He learned from his father and other mentors that the team depends on him to lead them. He takes this responsibility very seriously.

JM: How does a person work harmoniously with such a driven and demanding man?
DH: (Pats VP of Personnel) Scott Pioli is an extension of Belichick, the same with Tom Brady. They didn’t know what they were getting with Brady. The reports were good, but Drew Henson was the star of Brady’s Michigan teams. After being drafted in the sixth round, he was behind Bledsoe, Damon Huard and Michael Bishop on the depth chart. Brady spent his off hours sneaking into a tiny office studying film and comparing it with the playbook. This is what Belichick had been doing since he was 9 years old. At that age, he was already a master at breaking down game film.

JM: It is clear that Belichick’s father Steve, the great assistant coach and scout at Navy, shaped Bill as a coach, but was there tenderness in the relationship?
DH: Steve was a very demanding father. Within the family, Steve was the hanging judge and Bill’s mom Jeanette was the defense attorney. Steve’s love was forged by a tough childhood. Home was a haven. For Bill, there were greater parental demands and less slack cut. He grew up more privileged than Steve did. Theirs was a tender relationship. The way the home was run is the way Bill learned to lead.

JM: Tell me about Belichick’s longtime friend and colleague Ernie Adams.
DH: The two met as students at Andover Academy. Adams was also a football junkie who had read Steve Belichick's book on scouting. Adams became Belichick’s Belichick, sharing Bill’s love of devouring film. He was quite content not to be a star and uncommonly smart, a great football nerd. In truth, Bill was not too concerned about losing Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis. He told me that everything would be fine as long as he didn’t lose Adams. No one really knows what Adams does with the Patriots. Once, the players jokingly showed a shot of him on film with a caption asking what Adams actually does. He remembers every NFL play back fifty years and Bill can bounce things off him with complete trust.

JM: What did you learn about the mind of coach Belichick?
DH: In essence, Bill steps forward when things go badly, not when they go well. Have you ever seen him blame a player or assistant for any loss? He always shoulders the weight. Bill is always looking for the edge. The first coach he worked for in the NFL was Ted Marchibroda with the 1975 Colts. He remembered that Marchibroda, although a great offensive strategist and the man who invented the no huddle offense, did not like the pressure of making the play call. He would give Colts QB Bert Jones four choices and let him pick the play. When Bill was defensive coordinator for the Giants in Super Bowl XXV, Marchibroda was the Bills offensive coordinator. Bill remembered this fact and used it against the Bills. There is so much in football that you can’t control, tipped balls, ref’s calls, injuries. Bill is so good at doing all the things you can control.

JM: What was the worst moment of the Parcells/Belichick relationship?
DH: When they both moved to the Jets, that’s when it tore apart. Parcells had a wicked tongue and he used it against Belichick and his star players. When Bill worked under Parcells with the Giants, he did not like the way Parcells had different rules for the indiscretions of Lawrence Taylor. In the book, I write about a terrible moment when they were with the Jets. Belichick called a blitz and Parcells opposed the call. They went with the blitz and it worked. Parcells was furious and over the open microphones in the middle of the game, he shouted at Belichick, “Yeah, you’re a genius, everyone knows it, a goddam genius, but that’s why you failed as a head coach - That’s why you’ll never be a head coach…some genius.” Everyone who heard it was shocked at the cruelty of Parcells’ comments.

JM: Did you get a sense from Belichick regarding his views on this year’s tough early schedule?
DH: All I’ll say is that it is clear that the NFL does not want a perennial champion. With all due respect to Mr. Tagliabue, the system is completely dishonest. The worst 10 or 12 teams make the worst management decisions are made to look better at the expense of good teams. Paul Tagliabue wants to make the weak look strong. Bill knows this. He also knows that this Patriots team is in transition and that they are vulnerable to injury, but his learned ability to shuttle other players in is his strength.

JM: What does Bill’s future hold and have you become friends since collaborating on this book?
DH: I think, eventually, he might move to solely a general manager’s role with a team, but he’s a football man and money does not drive him. He is not restless. He’s a coach. We are friends in a cautious way. In the unlikely event that he had a day off, he’d feel he could talk to me about non-football stuff. We both have houses on Nantucket and when I first met him, he told me that he had read my work. I invited him striper fishing in late September, but he is up to his ass in alligators right now. There is no con or manipulation with Bill. What you see is what you get. I came away from the book very much valuing him. I would be very glad to have him coach my son or daughter. That is the acid test.

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