Bill Belichick’s impact reaches beyond the football world and has transplanted itself into other sports at every level.
The coach of the Super Bowl-bound New England Patriots is considered by many to be one of the greatest of all time … in any sport. His achievements on the football field are evident, but his coaching philosophies are widespread. Coaches at every level have dipped into Belichick’s ideologies and have found that they work.
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The phrase “building a winning culture” is synonymous with Belichick and the Patriots. Many coaches use that as a foundation for their respective programs, no matter the sport or level of competition. This will be Belichick’s seventh trip to the Super Bowl with New England since 2001; the Patriots have won four championships in that time and are on the verge of a fifth.
Whether you love him or whether you think he cheats, you’d be hard-pressed to find a coach or manager who doesn’t respect the job Belichick has done throughout his career.
His legacy transcends football. Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona and Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell are both fans of Belichick. It’s understandable given their connection to Boston, but the admiration doesn’t end in New England. Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is a Belichick fan, too.
“A lot of what we are trying to create in Los Angeles stems from how Coach Belichick leads,” Roberts told ESPN.com. “He’s the master at creating a winning culture. The ability to get his players to be accountable and solely play for one another is unparalleled.”
In the hockey world, Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien has a close friendship with Belichick. Julien is coaching his 10th season with the Bruins and helped lead the organization to a Stanley Cup in 2011 and a return trip to the finals in 2013 only to lose to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Julien, a native of Ottawa, has been a Patriots fan since he was a kid. Before he even met Belichick, Julien had bought into the coach’s philosophies. Before Julien went on vacation after the 2002-03 season, during which he was promoted to head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, the first thing he did was purchase Belichick’s first coaching book.
“Here I am, reading a book about a football coach, trying to get better as a hockey coach,” Julien said. “I wasn’t looking for X’s and O’s. I was looking for how do you deal with a team of individuals. He talked about how you want to build a team, what kind of players you’re looking for, and I remember him talking about veterans that had been loyal but they weren’t serving the team anymore and he had to make some tough decisions. It’s not always easy being a coach, and you have to make some tough decisions — unpopular ones — and you learn from those things.”
Like every coach, Julien has dealt with adversity. He’s amazed at how well Belichick handles similar situations.
“It’s remarkable what they’ve accomplished,” Julien said. “It’s unbelievable the amount of times he’s brought his team there through adversity. He’s lost some players — the Gronks — but he still finds guys to come in and do the job. Their motto is so appropriate and so bang-on — ‘just do your job’ — and that’s all you ask in all sports.
“My biggest thing has always been about having a good structure to rely on, so when you’re not as good on certain nights, your structure will save you. When you look at the number of injuries he’s had, what keeps him afloat is a structure of his football team. They’re always consistent, and that’s what we’re trying to do here. We’ve talked a lot about that.”
Julien said he would “guarantee” that coaches outside of football are reading Belichick’s book, or at least studying the way he handles situations on and off the field. And Julien is right. Coaches all over the sporting world are paying attention to and learning from Belichick and the Patriots.
“He’s the master at creating a winning culture. The ability to get his players to be accountable and solely play for one another is unparalleled.”
Enrico Blasi, 44, is the head coach of the Miami (Ohio) men’s hockey team. When he’s not watching a hockey game somewhere, Blasi is paying close attention to Belichick.
“For coaches who are developing young players, it would be a sin not to pay attention,” Blasi said.
“Everybody that comes to play for the Patriots knows their role, understands their role, and then is expected to take ownership for that role and execute. So, to me, you never, ever hear what’s going on with the Patriots. They’re a big family. All you hear is, ‘This is my role. You have to prepare well. These are the standards we have to meet.’ I’ve always tried to use that guideline for our program and our culture, that this is what we are, and no matter what year it is, we’re bringing guys in who have to believe in what we do, and the team will always have success.”
Blasi said there are plenty of times before a game or a weekend series when he addresses his team and channels his inner Belichick.
“As a coach, at our level anyway, you always try to mimic the best at any sport, and obviously the Patriots are the best at what they do, and Bill is the best at what he does, so you’re always using examples. Even if you don’t mention his name, you’re probably stealing something from him, and that’s coaching too,” Blasi said.
Legendary longtime coach Jerry Moore led the Appalachian State football team to one of the biggest upsets in college football history — a 34-32 win over the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines to start the 2007 season. Moore, 76, grew up in Texas and had plenty of influential coaching mentors during his career, including Nebraska coach Tom Osborne.
“I’ve been around a lot of really good coaches, and ever since Belichick got to New England, he’s been the guy a lot of coaches pattern their demeanor by,” Moore said. “There’s a calmness, at least on the outside, how he handles things, and when you do those things and have success, you want to be like him. I’ve always wanted to go up and watch their practice.
Scott Peach, 42, has been the head coach for the Arlington (Texas) High School football team for the last 14 seasons. The team has made deep runs in the playoffs but has yet to win a state championship. The Colts play in the highest division in Texas and have a longstanding tradition. Peach made the decision 10 years ago to research all the information he could find on Belichick and the Patriots.
“I did that from the standpoint of who [is] the very best in the world at football and what they are doing, how they’re doing it, so I looked to find playbooks — offensively and defensively — and while it was probably well beyond my knowledge base, it was well worth the study,” Peach said. “I told myself five or six years ago, if I wasn’t married with children, which I am, and committed to my job, if I really wanted to be serious about the business of football, I would take a year off and I would go be some type of assistant for Bill Belichick without pay. The reality is that there’s nobody in the world doing it better than him, and if I really wanted to be the best at my craft, that would be the way to do it.
Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill doesn’t know Belichick personally, but they have a mutual acquaintance. Blashill, who has coached in the NHL for only two seasons, understands the importance of preparing a team, and that’s what he sees when he watches the Patriots.
“It appears, from what I’ve seen, that there are no details missed. It appears, from what I’ve seen, he treats people right but he’s very demanding, so he’s hard but fair,” Blashill said. “The one thing I’d say I’ve learned from Bill, without question, is learning that with the media it’s much better to say less than more. There’s no doubt, and honestly, when you talk lots there’s way to contrive what you say, and certainly I’ve learned less is more from him.”
The business world is aware of Belichick’s success too. Jonas Reinholdsson owns a Boston-themed sports bar in Gothenburg, Sweden. He has attended a few Patriots games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, and his restaurant is a shrine to all Boston sports.
“Bill is a great coach and it’s hard to say what he brings to me at O’Leary’s, except never give up, consistency, and believe in yourself and your team,” he said. “And we both love Nantucket.”
Scotty Bowman, 83, is considered one of the greatest NHL coaches in history. He’s won a record nine Stanley Cup championships as a coach and another five in hockey operations. When he lived in Buffalo, Bowman was a big Bills fan in the ’90s and he still follows the NFL. From one great coach to another, Bowman respects what Belichick has accomplished in today’s game.
“Hard to go against that team in any sport for continuing to be the standard,” Bowman said. “It’s some accomplishment.”
What does it take for a coach to sustain that type of success?
“Well, he obviously has a lot of confidence in what he does,” Bowman said. “I’ve only met him once, but I know he’s ahead of the game. He doesn’t divulge a lot and I’m pretty sure, like all coaches, he’s trying to get a leg up on somebody else.
“I don’t know if you would call it an innovator as much as being advanced and always trying to do something that other teams maybe do later — but if you do it first, you seem to have an edge.”
Belichick is never one to boast about his personal accomplishments. That’s not his style. He should be proud, however, of the roots he’s creating throughout the coaching ranks in other sports.
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