Boston might be considered the most spoiled sports city in America, but that might have something to do with the fact that great coaches are drawn to the city to coach the local teams.
The Patriots and the Celtics are both fortunate to have coaches, Bill Belichick and Brad Stevens, that are considered top tier in each of their respective sports. It’s easy to see why they are both considered so great when you look at what they have accomplished.
Belichick has won five Super Bowl titles with the Patriots, and made eight appearances in the big game. Stevens, though his NBA coaching career still hasn’t even reached its prime yet, has already made humongous strides with the Celtics, last year having coached them to the best record in the Eastern Conference. This year, Stevens currently has the Celtics two wins away from reaching the NBA Finals.
Stevens recently sat down with Cynthia Frelund of NFL Network, as shown in a video on Patriots.com, and he talked about how he’s made a few visits to Foxborough to spend time with Belichick and the other Patriots coaches.
“I have taken advantage of going over there on a number of occasions,” Stevens said in the interview, “whether it’s sitting through OTAs, or practices, or meetings… whatever the case may be. And I got to know Josh (McDaniels) really well. Josh was kind of my conduit in there. I’ve watched him go through all the quarterback work, and the stuff that they do on the offensive side of the ball. To get a chance to spend time over there has been really helpful.”
As expected, Stevens has great admiration for Belichick and the New England coaches, and how they’ve managed to keep a winning culture for so many years.
“Their culture, the way that they move from drill to drill, how they pull together, how connected they are… it’s special,” Stevens continued. “And it does not happen everywhere. The one thing that the Patriots have always been great about is that they don’t beat themselves. And, you know, they pride themselves on that.”
Belichick, at age 66, is obviously nearing the end of his coaching career, while Stevens is still somewhat in the beginning stages at age 41. By the time it’s all said and done, who knows how many combined championships they will have brought to the city of Boston.