Julian Edelman and Berj Najarian recall Bill Belichick's telltale frustration expression: "It’s like disappointing your father"
Since Bill Belichick left the New England Patriots, stories about the way of working from the former head coach emerged like water in the ocean. Everyone wanted to have a say in things he did and tell stories about their time with the Patriots - and, obviously, some have a bigger voice than others.
In Julian Edelman's podcast Games With Names, he was joined by Berj Najarian, a former Patriots Director of Football Operations during Belichick's days, to discuss the golden era of the New England Patriots. One of the discussions they held was about how Belichick registered his disappointment with his players and his staff:
Najarian: It’s not like all the time in your face. He gets after players and staff for sure. It’s not that you’re trying to avoid that. You’re trying to avoid the most slight expression. That’s a Parcells fear, like, that could happen. But with Bill, it’s more of those [subtle] types of things that you’re trying to avoid.
Edelman: It’s kind of like disappointing your father
Edelman signed with the team as an undrafted free agent in 2009 and stayed there until 2021, when a knee injury ended his career with three Super Bowl rings. Najarian joined Bill O'Brien's coaching staff at Boston College.
Why did Bill Belichick leave the Patriots?
His second stint with the franchise (the first took place in 1996, still as an assistant to Bill Parcells) brought a level of success that would never have been imagined. Hired in 2000 after his famous "dismissal" as coach of the New York Jets, the head coach created an immensely successful partnership with quarterback Tom Brady, who led the team on the field between 2001 and 2019.
Together, the two drove the most successful dynasty in league history, totaling six rings, nine Super Bowl appearances and 17 division titles.
Belichick's departure happened after a string of turbulent Patriots seasons under the historic coach. After Brady's departure in 2020, the Patriots only made one playoff appearance out of four opportunities. The lack of offensive production weighed heavily in the last two years, especially with the strong regression of Mac Jones and the controversies surrounding the coach's coaching staff.
The relationship between Kraft and Belichick, once excellent, was also the subject of controversy in recent years.