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2000 stories
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New England: Final grades
01-Jan-2001, Sporting News
"Ask Belichick what the team's biggest need is, and he'll
say the defensive line, where there was an obvious lack of a
pass rush. If Belichick gets his way, the team will try to land
an impact player on defense a
lineman or linebacker with its No. 1
draft pick. The team might try to plug a hole here or there on
the offensive line, but it needs marked improvement from that
unit. It would help if there were a good runner behind that line."
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Best
Seat In The House
07-Dec-2000,
Boston Globe
"This is where Bill Belichick comes to wrestle with football
problems. This is where he talks back to the Sony television
positioned in front of his desk, studies for six to eight hours
a day on his black Dell laptop, and goes through defensive plays and coverages
with names such as Yankees, Celtics, Atlanta, Cougar, and Marine."
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What
Makes Belichick Tick?
10-Sep-2000, Boston Globe Magazine
"[He] saw two sides of Bill Belichick: the football scientist and the
angry perfectionist. He saw what the Patriots will see this year many
times. He saw the professor and the principal. But he didn't see all the
sides of Bill Belichick, because nobody does. Not his teammates, his
players, his friends, or the media. People see only what he lets them see,
and nothing more."
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Close
Call Gets To Belichick
09-Sep-2000,
Boston Globe
"With
each passing day, we've seen just how much some of the Jets players meant
to Bill Belichick. Finally escaping the cold, harsh exterior he's been
painted with, Belichick spoke of his feelings yesterday for Jets free
safety Kevin Williams, who nearly died of an undetected throat infection
last year."
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New
England's Belichick Now Flexible
01-Sep-2000, St. Petersburg Times
"Maybe
you have heard new New England coach Bill Belichick is a new man.
Perhaps you picked up on the talk that Belichick is a kinder, gentler
soul. To a degree, it's all true. Just don't tell his players."
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Top
Billing: Pats' Belichick Emerges From Parcells' Shadow
31-Aug-2000,
Boston Herald
"This is
the job Bill Belichick wanted all along. He didn't want to lapdog behind
Bill Parcells down Interstate 95 when The Big Fella high-tailed it from
Foxboro to the Meadowlands. He wanted to be the new head coach. Big Bill
takes off. Little Bill takes over. A smooth transition would occur and the
team that was coming off a Super Bowl appearance would keep on keepin'
on."
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Familiar
Face In Foxboro
17-Aug-2000,
Inquirer and Mirror
"First-year New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick may look
familiar, and he should. Belichick, who resigned as the head coach of the
New York Jets less than 24 hours after he was promoted, and later became
the head man for the Patriots, is a summer resident of Sconset. So don't
be surprised when you turn on your television this fall and see the same
man stalking the sidelines at Foxboro Stadium that you saw at the dump
this spring."
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The Second Time A Charm?
31-Jul-2000, Sports Illustrated
"Belichick
has entrusted offensive coordinator Charlie Weis with far
more responsibility than he did any offensive architect he had in
Cleveland. Belichick also believes that having owner Bob Kraft on his side
will be a plus he never had with the Browns. 'I feel much more comfortable
and confident this time,' says Belichick. 'I know the program we put in
place in Cleveland will work here. We'll make adaptations, but a big
difference the biggest positive, I believe will be in ownership.'"
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Belichick Gets Second Chance In New England
20-Jun-2000,
ESPN.com
"'I've tried to delegate more responsibility than I did
previously,' Belichick says. 'I've tried to take some of the non-football
things out of my domain, all the things that come across my desk that
don't have to do with performance directly.' Belichick sighs. He
understands his defensive reputation precedes him, but it is vitally
important to him to be recognized as a good head coach. This might be his
last chance to prove it. 'I think it's a great opportunity,' Belichick
says. 'A lot was given up to create it. I don't want to let them down. I
appreciate it, and hope I don't let them down.'"
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Belichick Crafts New Image
06-Jun-2000, New England Sports Service
"In Cleveland he was considered too gruff, sour and media-hostile to
succeed. In New York he was described as treacherous, two-faced, unsure of
himself and conceivably a little mad. But in the four months since Bill
Belichick assumed his dream job in New England, the former head coach of
the Browns has built a totally different image for myself."
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Belichick
Establishes A No-Nonsense Policy
06-Jun-2000,
Telegraph Online
"'There's a couple of things that have to happen for you to play
in the NFL,' Belichick told the media on Monday in his last formal address
before the team opens camp on July 17. 'One, you have to have signed
contract. And two, you have to pass a physical. That includes the
conditioning (test). If you can't do the conditioning, then you can't pass
the physical, and you can't play. It's as simple as that.'"
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Belichick
Speaker At Associated Press Sports Editors Dinner
June 2000, Boston Globe
"Belichick
said that the largest problem facing young players today is the time and
money they have in their first couple of years in the pros, a major change
from collegiate years. Belichick also said that players have little sense
of football history, and, to illustrate, he told the gathering of 42
editors and reporters about an experience he had in Cleveland."
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Grudge
Match: New Patriots Coach Excited To Play Former Team
16-May-2000,
SI.com
"Bill
Belichick doesn't focus on his bizarre departure from New York and
Bill Parcells. He's more concerned with the next chapter in the rivalry
between his New England Patriots and the Jets. 'Am I prepared for the
rivalry? Yeah, you bet,' Belichick, getting ready for his first season as
Patriots coach, said Monday night. 'We know the border wars are over.
Everything's peachy between the Patriots and Jets.'"
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'It's Just
Another Sideline'
28-Apr-2000, Boston Globe
"There will
be 50 players at Foxboro Stadium this weekend, and many of them will be
looking for jobs. So, inevitably, they will be trying to impress the new
Patriots boss, Bill Belichick. You know how that works. You have a
conversation with the new supervisor and, to distinguish yourself, you are
tempted to do the Al Gore thing and inflate the truth. Here's my advice to
all players who happen to speak with Belichick during the weekend
minicamp: Don't say too much. To be even safer, don't say anything at
all."
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Belichick
Shows His Relaxed Side
04-Apr-2000,
New York Times
"The Patriots are happy to have Belichick on their side because
for many years, when Belichick was in New York, he devised plans that
completely frustrated New England, especially quarterback Drew Bledsoe. As
Belichick has met with Patriots players, all of them have expressed their
glee about having Belichick's brainpower supporting them instead of trying
to shut them down. 'The organization showed a lot of trust in me in
bringing me to the Patriots,' Belichick said. 'For that I am grateful.'"
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Returning
To Patriots Country
Spring
2000, Andover Bulletin Online
"Even before Belichick arrived in Andover in September 1970 as a
postgraduate student, he'd already served a long apprenticeship in what
became his chosen profession. He was immersed in football from an early
age as the son of former pro football player Steve Belichick, a longtime
scout and defensive assistant coach at the U.S. Naval Academy."
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Belichick Welcomes Old Friend Pioli To Front Office
11-Feb-2000, Patriots.com
"'I have come to respect Scott Pioli as a fine evaluator of talent with a
keen eye for stocking a team relative to its specific needs and system,'
stated Belichick in a written statement. 'I have seen the positive results
of Scott's very progressive player personnel system and am particularly
impressed with his record of consistently integrating capable second and
third tier players, as well as front line starters. Scott Pioli is a fine
addition to the New England Patriots and I look forward to his
contributions for years to come.'"
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'One
Of The Best Years Of My Life.'
30-Jan-2000,
Eagle-Tribune
Bill Belichick, and those who knew him then (and still today), describe
his post-graduate year at Phillips Academy. "He is looked at as one
of the smartest people in the game," said [Phillips football captain
Scott] Ward. "That makes it even more special than just being a coach. It
looks good for the school. I've always been a fan of the Patriots. This
makes me a fan even more."
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Right
Man, Right Price
29-Jan-2000,
Associated Press
"Bill Belichick was hired Thursday as coach of the New England Patriots
after New York Jets boss Bill Parcells made a last-ditch phone call to
mend fences and grab New England's top pick in this year's draft. The call
Wednesday night prodded Patriots owner Bob Kraft to pay the first-round
draft choice Parcells had demanded as compensation for letting Belichick
out of his contract with New York."
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Whiz
Kid To Defensive Genius
28-Jan-2000,
Boston Globe
"From the darkened film room at Navy; to
the rarefied social register of Phillips Academy in Andover, where he
spent a postgraduate year after leaving Annapolis High; to the elite
campus of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., where he graduated in
1975 with a degree in economics and letters in football, lacrosse, and
squash, the impressions are almost universal. Belichick is remembered as
cerebral, respectful, intense, competitive, and sociable."
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Vermeil:
Patriots Didn't Overpay For Belichick
28-Jan-2000,
Associated Press
"Dick Vermeil thinks the New England Patriots were smart to surrender a
first-round draft pick to get Bill Belichick. 'I think that is a
small price to pay for the right guy . . . To me, there have been a ton of
first-round flops,' Vermeil said. 'There has been a ton of first-round
picks that everyone is mad at for the next 10 years and they hang around
the league. You get the right coach, he will change your organization.'"
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Patriots Give Up No. 1 For Belichick
27-Jan-2000,
Associated Press
"Bill Belichick was hired Thursday as coach of the New England
Patriots after New York Jets boss Bill Parcells made a last-ditch phone
call to mend fences and grab New England's top pick in this year's
draft.
'For a No. 1 draft choice, we can bring in a man that I feel
certain can do something, rather than the uncertainty of a draft choice,'
Kraft said Thursday night after shaking hands with Belichick on a
five-year deal. 'And it wasn't even close when I thought about it that way.'"
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Drew's Pick? Belichick.
23-Jan-2000,
Newsday
"Patriots owner Robert Kraft, according to sources with the team, has
received plenty of positive feedback from players about Belichick, the
club's assistant head coach during New England's Super Bowl run in 1996.
If Kraft signs Belichick, 'the Patriots win the division,' New England
wide receiver Shawn Jefferson told The Boston Globe this week.
'Mark it down right now. If Mr. Kraft hires that man, it's all over for
everybody else. The guys on this team will go all out for him. He's the
smartest defensive coach in the league and the offensive guys respect him.
There'd be no bull around here if Bill was the coach."
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There's No Sane Reason For All The Fuss Over
Belichick
17-Jan-2000, Sporting News
"Why any team would want to hire this man as a head coach is
baffling. Why Patriots owner Bob Kraft apparently is willing to give
Belichick more power than he was willing to give Bill Parcells is beyond
all reason. Belichick is a coaching testament to Laurence J. Peter's
theory. Known as the Peter Principle, it states that in any hierarchy, a person tends to
rise to the level of his incompetence. Just because Belichick is a great
defensive coordinator doesn't mean he can be an effective head coach. In
fact, he already has been an awful head coach in a five-year run with the
Browns. It is possible that he has learned from his mistakes and would be
a different head coach, but it's also possible that a pig will learn to
use silverware."
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Belichick
Hearings Underway
14-Jan-2000, Patriots.com
"After more than a week of
speculation, the NFL began hearings yesterday to determine whether former
New York Jets assistant head coach Bill Belichick will be allowed to seek
employment elsewhere as a head coach.
Belichick was contractually
elevated to head coach of the Jets when former coach Bill Parcells retired
on Jan. 3. Not wanting to live under Parcells' considerable shadow,
Belichick chose to resign the position the next day, leading to the
current state of affairs. The Jets claim he's still under contract (for
three more years) and Belichick believes he's free to make a deal with the
team of his choice."
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Point/Counterpoint
09-Jan-2000, Eagle-Tribune
"Enough about the five years in Cleveland. Please. This is not 1995.
This is not Cleveland, thankfully. And, even more thankfully, Art Modell,
the former Cleveland Browns owner, is 800 miles away, this time in
Baltimore. Bill Belichick will be named
the head coach of the New England Patriots when NFL commissioner Paul
Tagliabue sees fit. Like Parcells belonged in New York three years ago,
Belichick belongs here."
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Belichick's
Dad Knows Best
06-Jan-2000, New York Post
"Steve Belichick did not talk to his son yesterday. He said that some
people in the Jets organization really don't understand his son,
specifically club president Steve Gutman, who on Tuesday said that Bill
Belichick was going through 'inner turmoil.' 'When Steve Gutman made that
remark he showed he doesn't really know how to judge people,' the elder
Belichick said. 'I guarantee you one thing: Bill has analyzed the
situation and will do what is best for him and his family.'"
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Jets' Belichick Era Lasts One Day
05-Jan-2000, ESPN
"Bill Belichick resigned Tuesday as coach of the New York Jets, one
day after being elevated to the job when Bill Parcells resigned.
'I
just don't feel I can lead the Jets in the year 2000,' he said in a
stunning announcement at the Jets' training complex. 'I just know what I
need to do. I just don't feel I can do it right now. It is not about the
future, it is about the situation I am in now,' he added."
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Making
Cents Of Jets-Gate
05-Jan-2000,
ESPN Insider
"Belichick also will argue that the dynamics have changed
dramatically since he last agreed to the arrangement to succeed Parcells.
Most notably, Hess died and the club is in the final stages of sale to a
new owner, either Charles Dolan or Robert "Woody" Johnson.
Belichick's
point that the dynamics have changed is very legitimate."
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Belichick
Turns Down Jets' Coaching Job And Quits
05-Jan-2000,
Associated Press
"Instead of following Bill Parcells as head coach of the New York
Jets, Bill Belichick chose to follow Parcells' lead. He resigned. One day
after Parcells said he was through coaching, his hand-chosen successor,
defensive coordinator Belichick, dropped his own bombshell: He didn't want
the job, either. In the tightly controlled environment of pro football,
where players, coaches and staff move in step, Belichick's sudden reversal
of field Tuesday was startling."
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Doubts About
Jets' Choice Aren't Just Nitpicks
04-Jan-2000, Boston
Globe
"Why was Kraft going to hire this man to be the caretaker of his
organization? The fact that he was even thinking about it shows that he
has already gotten off to a bad start with his job search for a new
coach/general manager. The first thing Kraft should do this morning is
find the list with Belichick's name atop it and torch it. I'd hate to see
the second name on the list."
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Belichick
Resigns In New York
04-Jan-2000,
Patriots Football Weekly
"'As of today, I am resigning from the New York Jets,' said Belichick who
had been the assistant head coach and secondary coach with New York for
the last three years. 'I just don't feel I can lead the Jets in the year
2000. I just know what I need to do. I just don't feel I can do it right
now. It's not about control. It's about uncertainty.'"
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Frustrated
Belichick Leaves Jets With Uncertain Future
04-Jan-2000, CBS SportsLine.com
"The way Belichick figured it, there was nothing sure about coaching the
New York Jets at this point. 'Due to the various uncertainties surrounding
my position as it relates to the team's new ownership, I've decided to
resign as head coach of the New York Jets,' said Belichick.
'As we look into the future of the New York Jets
organization, there are a number of obvious uncertainties that would
affect the head coach of the team.'"
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Belichick:
He Has The Edge, Just Needs To Soften It
04-Jan-2000, Star-Ledger
"Even in a profession full of work fiends, Belichick was unusual. 'I've
never had a coach work more hours than Bill Belichick,' Modell said. And
maybe that became part of the problem in Cleveland. 'He worked his (butt)
off,' said Baltimore kicker Matt Stover, who played for Belichick all five
years he was in Cleveland. 'He worked so hard, he would almost isolate
himself. It's the nature of the job sometimes, I guess. A lot of times he
may not have come off as personable.'"
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Leaving On A Jet Plane: Parcells steps aside,
Belichick takes over Jets
04-Jan-2000, Associated Press
"Parcells said he has no concerns about turning over coaching duties
to Belichick, who was 37-45 in five seasons with the Cleveland Browns, but
is best known for his creative defenses. Belichick was the coordinator for
all of Parcells' Super Bowl teams and worked 14 years under Parcells.
Belichick was not available Monday, saying in a statement, 'My intention
was to allow this to be coach Parcells' day exclusively.'"
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