New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick joined Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer at a coaching clinic, and Meyer relayed a sentiment that Belichick has towards the players on his roster.
“I’m always amazed how he takes these non-stars and makes them stars. He takes these players that you haven’t really heard much about and all of a sudden they’re making great plays in the biggest games of the year,” Meyer said via Landof10.com. “I started asking him about it and he made this point to me and I shared it with our team. He said, ‘At this point in my career, I want to coach guys I like. I want to coach guys I want to be around and that’s it.’ He said, ‘I’m not going to coach anybody else.'”
Belichick has the benefit of picking the players that make their way on to the team, so he has the ability to only sign players that he likes and those that he wants to coach. But sometimes players change as they grow older and more experienced. Sometimes values change as players believe they are underpaid, or they’ve already won a ring and don’t feel the same drive towards another championship.
That’s when Belichick will show those players the door.
Belichick discussed the desire for tough, smart, and dependable players at the clinic, and those traits are certainly valuable when matching a player’s fit with Belichick. Perhaps “likability” should be added on to that list.
Side note: Anyone that says the phrase “at this point in my career,” makes me think of Lethal Weapon when Murtaugh says, “I’m getting too old for this...” That’s just a fact of life.