Sure, Bill Belichick was a great coach, but he was also a jerk
source: Getty Images Yes, we get it. Bill Belichick is arguably the greatest coach in NFL history. He’s also one of the sport’s biggest jerks.
While everyone is going to shout about the six Super Bowl wins, 17 division titles — blah, blah, blah — we’re going to recap the times when The Hoodie showed his true colors.
Even Robert Kraft thought Bill was an a-hole
source: Getty Images Patriots owner and massage parlor enthusiast Robert Kraft hired Belichick in 2000, regretting not doing so four years prior.
Despite the kind words upon The Hoodie’s departure, Kraft was quoted in Seth Wickersham’s book, It’s Better to be Feared, as calling Belichick the “biggest f*cking a–hole [in] my life.”
Even former players have spoken out against Belichick after leaving Foxborough. Danny Amendola said his former coach was “an a—hole sometimes” and Darelle Revis called him a jerk before signing with the Pats.
Post-game handshakes
source: Getty Images Belichick certainly wasn’t always pleasant towards his former assistant Eric Mangini whenever the two met — especially when the Jets knocked off the Pats.
But The Hoodie has also snubbed players and coaches — or tried to avoid them — during post-game handshakes dating back to his Cleveland tenure.
Reportedly subjecting concussed player to big hits
source: Getty Images In 2007, former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson accused Belichick of subjecting him “to hard hits in practice while he was recovering from a concussion.”
“If Ted felt so strongly that he didn’t feel he was ready to practice with us, he should have told me,” Belichick told the Boston Globe.
However, Johnson may have felt pressured to play. In a 2017 blog, former New England lineman Geoff Schwarz discussed what “do your job” meant for members of the Patriots. He said that players would be admonished in team meetings, be benched, or even traded if they let down the HC.
Cheating — both on and off the field
source: Getty Images There is both Spygate and Deflategate, along with a list of other scandals. Then there’s the report of his being his mistress’s sugar daddy, “sending her envelopes stuffed with cash and buying a secret $2.2 million Park Slope townhouse for her use, court papers allege,” as the New York Post reported in 2007.
Though they’ve since split, Belichick’s relationship with Linda Holliday started with her being married at the time.
He shoved a cameraman
source: Getty Images Ahh, the time he wasn’t being a jerk to Mangini — and actually wanted to greet the then-NYJ HC kindly following a game — Belichick was instead a jerk to someone else: A Boston Globe cameraman.
BB pushed the guy, who was just trying to do his job, outta the way.
“I do feel bad for that,” Belichick said after the fact. “I really didn’t mean to hit him up high there. I was trying to just push him out of the way and get to Eric. It wasn’t ... it certainly wasn’t called for, so I ... I wish that hadn’t happened.”
Instigating fights
source: Getty Images Former lineman Chad Eaton claimed that Belichick paid him to start fights.
“He wanted me to get on somebody’s (case) and start a little fight. I was known for that and it paid off on Fridays,” Eaton told the Dayton Daily News. “There’d always be some extra money in my locker. Practice players don’t make much, so I really appreciated it.”
Boston.com had also pulled up a 2000 Boston Globe story that said Belichick paid practice squad offensive lineman Rob Gatrell $200 to go after Lawyer Milloy in practice, which led to a 30-man brawl.
Put his hands on a ref
source: Getty Images Belichick grabbed a ref following a loss to the Ravens — supposedly to ask the officiating crew whether Justin Tucker’s game-winning FG would be reviewed.
Afterward, ESPN wrote, “as the officials continued to walk past him without acknowledgment, Belichick grabbed the last one to get his attention. The official never broke stride, ignoring Belichick’s grasp and continuing off the field.”
Made Tom Brady look sympathetic
source: Getty Images In Brady’s last year as the QB for the Patriots, he told NBC’s Cris Collinsworth that he was “the most miserable 8-0 QB in league history.” It was later revealed that he was sick of the abrasive Belichick and the way he was getting treated.
He cut a player on Christmas
source: Getty Images Being cut from the NFL comes with the territory. But to get axed, unexpectedly, and on a holiday — that’s cold.
Needing a cornerback for an upcoming game against the Jets in 2016, Belichick called tight end Asante Cleveland on Christmas Day to cut him.
“I said, ‘Merry Christmas.’ I don’t know if he heard me. He didn’t say it back,” Cleveland told the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Cut a player less than 24 hours before the Super Bowl
source: Getty Images Wide receiver Tiquan Underwood was cut in favor of a practice squad D-lineman — and wasn’t given an explanation for the move — right before Super Bowl XLVI.
He even tosses the challenge flag like a jerk
source: Getty Images He keeps it in his sock. Then he makes a show of it, pulling out the red hankey and tossing it with a ton of sass.
In a game against the Miami Dolphins, Belichick spiked the flag in front of the ref, like a petulant child.
“At least he showed some emotion,” is basically what those he came to his defense said.
Has his own negative Urban Dictionary entry
source: Getty Images “Being Belichicked.” The site defines it as “another way to say you were thrown under the bus by someone that you consider a friend.”