Ernie Adams reflects upon his unique relationship with Bill Belichick

Ernie Adams and Bill Belichick were among the two longest-standing members of the New England Patriots staff until Adams retired after the 2020 season. The two have a unique rapport with their relationship spanning all the way back to their days at Phillips Andover Academy.

With all that time spent together, including years of professional work in complement to their friendship, they have a unique relationship.

“We’ve been having a football conversation for 50 years. At the Giants, we’d go for long runs together,” Adams said on the “Past Pats” podcast. “We can do a lot of things very quickly because we have some common reference points. Something that happened in Cleveland in 1993, nobody else on the face of planet earth will remember but, ‘Hey Bill remember what we did in Cleveland, this really worked in this situation.’ … We can make big changes in a hurry because we’ve spent so much time talking, we know what each other are talking about.”

Surely, Belichick sorely misses his best friend and one of his most trusted advisors, from team building to in-game decision-making.

List

Projecting Patriots starters for 2022: What to do with Nelson Agholor, Jonnu Smith?