Bill Belichick on a life in football

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Bill Belichick, the now-73-year-old erstwhile NFL coach, wasn't funny successful gloating astir his galore achievements erstwhile helium wrote his caller book, "The Art of Winning" (to beryllium published May 6), He says the rubric was the prime of the steadfast and advisors connected the book. "My rubric prime would person been, 'How I Did My Job,' oregon 'Lessons From My Life In Football,'" helium said.

The effect is not a tell-all, but what you mightiness telephone a tell-some. He writes, among different topics, that he's not a instrumentality of the inspirational locker country code astatine halftime. "Coach, person you not seen the movies?" I asked.

"I've seen 'em!" Belichick replied. "Yeah, I would accidental I'm not against them. I would conscionable say, I've seen precise fewer that were truly worthy of a beardown mention, oregon changed the absorption of the squad oregon the game. There've been precise few. Most of it truly is strategic: What are they doing? What bash we request to set to that? That's truly what shot is: identifying a problem, figuring a solution, and past executing that program to marque it work."

As helium writes, he's motivated not by benignant oregon fame, but by the obvious. "I effort to seizure immoderate of the ups and downs and the mentation and the dealing with prima players and the large moments," helium said.

"You wanted to springiness backmost to football, you write, immoderate of what shot has fixed to you?" I asked.

"Absolutely."

You're astir apt reasoning the aforesaid happening I was erstwhile I sat down with Belichick: What's going connected with his sweatshirt? "Well, you could spot I've worn this 1 for a while," helium laughed.

Tattered and often sleeveless, Belichick's signature look is portion of his singular focus.

Football has fixed him a batch implicit a 50-year vocation … 2nd all-time successful NFL victories, including a grounds six Super Bowl titles arsenic caput manager of the New England Patriots.

Asked what a title triumph is like, Belichick replied, "It feels similar a beingness achievement. It feels similar you've worked your full beingness to get to that point, and honestly erstwhile you triumph one, you effort to savor the infinitesimal due to the fact that successful the backmost of your caput you're benignant of thinking, 'I don't cognize if I'll ever beryllium present again.'"

Like father, similar son

Football is everything for Belichick. His father, Steve, a beloved adjunct astatine Navy for much than 3 decades, made definite of that. "As an lone child, you know, I followed my dada around," helium said. "If helium had been a fireman, I astir apt would person been a fireman. He was a shot coach, and truthful I hung astir him, and I did immoderate helium did."

I asked, "But what did you emotion astir that? Because plentifulness of sons tally successful the different direction."

"Well, I deliberation a large portion of it was the respect and adoration that they had for him; it seemed precise rewarding."

When young Billy went looking for a coaching occupation of his own, though, Dad had immoderate advice: "You're ne'er gonna marque immoderate wealth coaching. You request to spell to concern school, you request to get a job."

"He discouraged you?" I asked.

"He was being real," Belichick replied.

But the National Football League soon realized that determination was thing peculiar astir this coach's kid, and by the twelvemonth 2000, Patriots proprietor Robert Kraft hired Belichick to crook the squad into a dynasty … which helium did, uncovering possibly the champion backmost of each clip with the 199th prime of the 2000 draft.

I asked, "What did you spot successful Tom Brady that everybody other missed? He wasn't the fastest, helium wasn't the strongest, helium didn't stroke you distant with his athleticism."

"Well, 2 things really; helium was accurate, and helium was a precise bully decision-maker," Belichick said. Plus, "He got amended each azygous day."

"As helium got better, you got better. Did you physique disconnected of each other?"

"Absolutely, yeah."

Cincinnati Bengals v New England Patriots

"You conscionable gotta crook the page"

One country wherever they are intelligibly antithetic is with the media. Brady seems astatine easiness successful the spotlight; Belichick does not. "Well, I recognize they person a pugnacious job," helium said. "On the different broadside of that, arsenic a coach, you know, you person a occupation to do, too. There are times wherever I could person been much accommodating, I admit that. You conscionable gotta crook the leafage and determination forward. As overmuch arsenic they privation to excavation deeper and deeper into the sedate and spot what much is down there, astatine immoderate constituent you've conscionable got to look up and determination on."

It's besides been a momentous twelvemonth for Belichick. He was named head manager of the University of North Carolina, the effect of a messy divided from Robert Kraft and the Patriots successful 2024.

Despite their 24 years unneurotic with the Patriots, Kraft is not mentioned successful Belichick's book. "He's not. Well again, it's astir my beingness lessons successful football, and it's truly much astir the ones that I experienced directly."

"He's not adjacent successful the acknowledgment section?"

"Correct."

"Do you consciousness similar you were treated with dignity and respect erstwhile you were fto spell by Robert Kraft?"

"Yeah, well, it was a communal determination for america to portion ways," Belichick said.

"He said 'fired.'"

"It was a communal decision."

The "creative muse"

The different alteration for Belichick is 24-year-old Jordon Hudson, his "creative muse," arsenic helium writes successful his book. Jordan was a changeless beingness during our interview.

I asked, "You person Jordan close implicit there. Everybody successful the satellite seems to beryllium pursuing this relationship. They've got an sentiment astir your backstage life. It's got thing to bash with them, but they're invested successful it. How bash you woody with that?"

"I've ne'er been excessively disquieted astir what everybody other thinks," Belichick replied. "Just effort to bash what I consciousness similar is champion for maine and what's right."

When Belichick was asked however the 2 of them met, Hudson spoke up: "He's not talking astir this."

It's a taxable neither 1 of them is comfy commenting on, though Hudson has precocious posted astir it connected Instagram, including a representation of Belichick arsenic a fisherman and Hudson arsenic a mermaid. In another, Belichick is balancing Jordan connected his feet. "Yeah, truthful I'm connected immoderate of those societal media platforms, but I honestly don't follow," helium said.

What helium does travel isn't clicks oregon views, but touchdowns and (above all) wins.

I asked, "You bash look similar you're having a batch much amusive these days than you were successful different chapters of your life."

"I bask football," Belichick replied. "I bask the full process of it. It's hard to win, and it's hard to bushed different bully coaches, bully teams. I admit the grind. I admit the competition. But coaching's fun, and honestly, I consciousness similar I haven't worked a time successful my life."

For much info:

"The Art of Winning: Lessons from My Life successful Football" by Bill Belichick (Avid Reader Press), successful Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, disposable May 6 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org

Story produced by Gabriel Falcon. Editor: Ed Givnish.

See also:

Tom Brady astatine 40, and inactive beating the clock ("Sunday Morning")

Tony Dokoupil

Tony Dokoupil is simply a co-host of "CBS Mornings" and CBS Mornings Plus." Dokoupil besides anchors "The Uplift," a play bid spotlighting affirmative and inspiring stories for CBS News 24/7.

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