'You don't know Bill Belichick like I know him'
Charlie Weis shares a different side of the Patriots' coaching genius
Stew Milne / ASSOCIATED PRESSThrough their time together with the New England Patriots, Charlie Weis was able to see another side to the usualy stoic Bill Belichick.
By Charlie Weis
updated 12:07 p.m. ET Aug. 26, 2008
In his second coming, I think Bill would like to play Major League Lacrosse or be in a rock 'n' roll band. That's a tough call. I really like Bon Jovi and have been to concerts. Bill actually went for a small stretch of tours. He traveled with them. Here's a guy everyone looks at as stiff and stoic, but he busts chops with the best of them. He likes to hang out at the beach; he likes to watch Bon Jovi play.
The Bill people see publicly is not the Bill that I know. I know him in a totally different vein. It's good for people to realize there's a lot of good in this guy that the average guy doesn't see. He has a pretty big personality that he cares not to share with other people. He does a good job of separating football from nonfootball. In the summer, he's always doing something with his kids, be it Amanda, Stephen or Brian. He goes to lacrosse games all over the place. He watches in the stands, or he's throwing with his kids. He's just like any other loving, caring father.
He's witty; he has a dry sense of humor that is quite comical. You have to understand that dry sarcasm or you wouldn't know he's being funny. I can remember one instance on a beach in Belmar, N.J., one of our buddies--who is not a football guy--was trying to get into a football analysis question with us and we just played with him. We went back and forth and answered the question. I don't remember the question, but I remember it was a barrage and he was overwhelmed.
Our friend laughs and finally says, "Well, I guess I shouldn't have been asking the question." I still bring it up to our friend from time to time. When he asks me a question, I say, "Do I need to get Belichick involved?" We have a good laugh.
I could tell you a bunch of (anecdotes) about Bill, but there's one thing that stands out and shows me how caring he is. In 2002 when I had surgery that went bad, I was in really bad shape. I was in a coma, came out of a coma. I was weak, I was depressed, I couldn't walk. And Bill stuck by me and (my wife) Maura and our family the whole time.
Any coach who had just come off a Super Bowl win could've simply replaced me because of the unknown. He told me to take my time and get well, and my job was there when I came back. He said, "If you decide you don't want to come back, that's OK, too."
When I got back to work, I worked 3 to 4 hours a day. He wouldn't even let me go on the first road trip, the first exhibition game, because he was looking out for my health. That whole ordeal, when most guys would've just pulled the trigger and hired another coach, he stood by my family.
My last year, when I was offered the Notre Dame job, it never would've worked out if both sides weren't willing to work through what was in the best interest of Notre Dame and the Patriots. Bill couldn't have been more caring for me and my situation down the stretch--when he's trying to win a Super Bowl.
Last year, when his team is 15-0 and playing to become the first 16-0 team, he invites me and Charlie Jr. to watch the game in the Meadowlands. Gets us two sideline passes. It was cold that day, and before we go out on the field, before he's going to coach in one of the biggest games of his career, he sees that Charlie Jr. is a little underdressed. So Bill takes his own Patriots apparel from his locker and gives it to Charlie Jr. He does little things like that that people never see or know.
He's very matter-of-fact in the locker room. He knows the right things to say at all times. And he's on them. He knows how to take care of them in training camp, and in-season, he never backs off them. He's very well-respected--especially by the veterans. That's why the Patriots have very few problems. The veterans see eye to eye with Bill, and the veterans control the team.
There's always the unknown with everyone you bring in there, but there are very few players who come in there and don't fit in. With Randy Moss, for anyone involved with Bill and the Patriots, it would've been a bigger surprise if it didn't work out.
Bill knows he's a good person, and despite the fact that (he's) under public scrutiny, Spygate doesn't mean anything to him in comparison to winning the Super Bowl. The most disappointing thing for him was not winning the championship.
Now, don't get me wrong, everyone cares how they are perceived. Does he worry about it? The answer would be no. The league makes a ruling and you move on.
--As told to Matt Hayes
Bob Wieneke covers Notre Dame football recruiting for the South Bend Tribune’s IrishSportsReport.com.
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