Bill Belichick Gets Testy When Asked About Patriots’ Quiet Trade Deadline
FOXBORO, Mass. — It was like Groundhog Dag at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday.
Once again, the Patriots did absolutely nothing at the NFL trade deadline, which was Tuesday afternoon. And once again, Bill Belichick spit on reporters who dared ask him about not making any moves despite being 2-6 and staring at a rebuild.
It started when MassLive’s Mark Daniels asked Belichick whether Tuesday was a busy day for him and New England’s personnel decision-makers.
“Yeah, we’re getting ready for Washington,” a snarling Belichick said in a sign of things to come.
Were the Patriots close to making any deals?
“Just spent time getting ready for Washington,” said Belichick, who throughout his Wednesday morning news conference repeatedly defaulted to Sunday’s home game against the Commanders.
NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry then followed up with a series of trade-related questions that caused Belichick to get increasingly testy. At multiple points, the Patriots head coach referenced his recent claims of splitting personnel responsibilities with executive Matt Groh.
Perry: “So, when you said you spent time getting ready for Washington yesterday, there wasn’t much that percolated on the trade front?”
Belichick: “Yeah, again, we talked about this the other day. … Personnel department, coaching department — we talked about that last week. Just another day of that.”
Perry: “So, there really weren’t even any decisions to make on your end?”
Belichick: “If there was anything to talk about, we talked about it. If there wasn’t anything to talk about, then I worked on Washington; personnel people worked on personnel things.”
(Before Perry’s next question, Belichick answered two questions about Josh McDaniels’ firing by saying, “Just getting ready for Washington.”)
Perry: “Bill, really not trying to beat a dead horse here. I just want to clarify … you are part of the personnel department, so you have final say…”
Belichick: “Phil, this is the same we’ve talked about. We’ve talked about this 50 times. If they have something that they think I need to know about, then we talk about it. If I have a personnel situation that I think they need to know about, I tell them about it and then they look into it. It’s the same thing I’ve said the last 50 times we’ve talked about this. We work together when there’s something to work together on. When there isn’t something to work together on, then I coach, they do personnel.”
Perry: “Just trying to clarify, just because you make it sound like two different things. Our understanding is you’re…”
Belichick: “Yes. If there’s something that we need to talk about, then we talk about it. And if there isn’t something to talk about, we don’t just sit there and stare at each other all day. Like, we both have other stuff to do. Not both, but, like, their department, the coaching department — like, there’s other things going on. So, not just gonna sit there and stare at each other and see if the phone’s gonna ring, or if there’s gonna be something bolting on the news, or whatever. Like, we have stuff to do.”
This was classic Belichick.
He found an “On to Cincinnati”-esque phrase to use as a shield against questions about trades, which he hates talking about. And when the conversation shifted toward who was in control of the Patriots’ deadline strategy, Belichick resorted to disingenuous semantics to avoid taking responsibility.
Rinse, repeat.