NFL analyst explains why Bill Belichick never wanted to do Hard Knocks
The Bill Belichick-New England Patriots era was one of the most memorable runs in all of sports. As the Patriots head coach from 2000-2023, Belichick won Six Super Bowl champions, and three Coach of the Year awards, while leading the Patriots to 18 playoff appearances.
While Belichick and the Patriots produced some of the most entertaining football on and off the field over the last 25 years, the Patriots never participated in HBO's hit series, Hard Knocks. Belichick and the Patriots were never keen on the idea of having camera crews follow and document their every move leading up to their seasons.
Mike Florio, senior analyst for ProFootballTalk recently spoke about his first impressions of this season's Hard Knocks featuring the New York Giants. Being surprised with how much access the cameramen have during important conversations, Florio spoke on why the Patriots and Belichick never wanted to do Hard Knocks, due to the privacy, or lack of.
Florio said:
"That's one of the reasons former Patriots coach Bill Belichick never wanted to do Hard Knocks. It's one thing to say, oh, you've got full control of what gets into the final cut. That's fine. What about all the stuff we took out? Where does that go?"
"Where does that live? Who's got access to that? And when you consider the window in which this is all happening, January, February, March, April. We finally start seeing the episodes in July. That's a long time for all of the footage to be floating around in the NFL films Virtual Vault. And I have no reason to mistrust anyone connected to the process."
What are Bill Belichick's plans now that he is no longer coaching?
Bill Belichick put together a legendary coaching career in New England. His record in New England is 266–121 with a 30-12 playoff record.
After the 2023-2024 season in which the New England Patriots finished 4-13, Belichick stepped down as the team's head coach. On January 11, 2024, Belichick and the Patriots agreed to mutually part ways, ending a legendary run between the two.
Belichick seemed to have plans of continuing to coach, as he interviewed for the Atlanta Falcons' head coaching gig. They ended up hiring Raheem Morris as their head coach. Belichick still considers himself an active coach.
Belichick will be appearing in the media a lot this season. He agreed to appear every Monday afternoon during the 2024 NFL season on the Pat McAfee Show. He also agreed to appear on every broadcast of ManningCast, hosted by brothers Peyton and Eli.
If Belichick's time as a coach has come to an end, he could potentially be lining himself up for a future gig as a broadcaster/analyst.