Stephon Gilmore defends 'greatest' Bill Belichick as criticism surrounds former Patriots coach's portrayal on 'The Dynasty'
As Bill Belichick knows, Stephon Gilmore has made a name playing defense on the gridiron. That said, the former Patriots cornerback put on a different form of defense this week. In a post on social media, the cornerback expressed "disappointment" about Bill Belichick's portrayal in the docuseries "The Dynasty" on Apple TV+. Here's how Gilmore explained it, according to NBC Sports:
“Just watched The Dynasty. Bill was the greatest coach I’ve ever been around. Don’t let that [The Dynasty] fool you. I’ll never forget we were a predominantly man team during the 2018 season all the way up to the Super Bowl. When we played the Rams we switched to Zone. No coach would switch what they did all season in a big game like that.”
In other words, Gilmore claimed that Belichick displayed guts at the end of the 2018 season in a way that few coaches would. By his estimation, few coaches would dare to blow up their game plan that worked all season long before the biggest moment. However, Belichick did.
Patriots fans and Belichick fans alike were shocked to see how the program portrayed the head coach, seemingly taking Tom Brady's side in the eternal argument about the true engine of the team.
Vince Wilfork's comments echoed Gilmore's. According to NBC Sports and USA Today via Yahoo, Wilfork also took umbrage with how the head coach's involvement was portrayed.
"Bill deserves a lot more credit," Wilfork said.
When was Bill Belichick and Tom Brady's final Super Bowl?
The New England Patriots won their final Super Bowl appearance of the Tom Brady era in 2019. At the end of the 2018 season, the aging Patriots faced the youthful Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams. Unlike the previous Super Bowl shootout between Nick Foles and Tom Brady, this game was much more defensive and subdued.
The Patriots put up just 13 points in the game, but it was enough to clench victory over the Rams, who scored just three points. Aside from an impressive late grab for big yards by Rob Gronkowski, the game was essentially an offensive stalemate for its duration.
Tom Brady moved on at the end of the 2019 season and the Patriots slipped into the Belichick-only era, never to sniff a taste of their run with Brady. Now, with the head coach also out the door, the era is truly wrapped for the team as Jerod Mayo looks for a replacement for Mac Jones.