'That's how we grow': How Bill Belichick takes a hands-on approach in Patriots practice

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Back in 2009, during “A Football Life” documentary, Bill Belichick said when he wanted to stop coaching.

“I won’t be like Marv Levy and coaching in my 70s, I know that,” Belichick said.

Belichick was 57 years old at the time. Thirteen years and four more Super Bowls later, the Patriots coach turned 70 this April, and he’s not slowing down. For Belichick, 70 is just a number. To see that, all you had to do was watch Patriots OTAs and minicamp.

This offseason, Belichick was more hands-on with the offense after the team lost longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. That didn’t mean that Belichick just stood near the offensive players and barked instructions. The Patriots coach was on that field, participating with his players during numerous drills.

“I enjoy coaching,” Belichick said when asked about being hands-on in practice. “There's a lot of different elements to that, classroom, on the field, film, game day, whatever it is I enjoy that. I try to contribute and help the team where I can.”

We saw Belichick snap balls to Mac Jones. We saw Belichick simulate catching punts. We saw him working as a defensive back in wide receiver drills. We even saw him put a red cap over his visor to work as an edge rusher during defensive drills.

Although several of those images might make you laugh, it’s clear that Patriots players valued their time and instruction from Belichick this offseason.

Here’s what they thought of their head coach putting in the work.

Belichick as a center

Back in 1975, Belichick played center for Wesleyan University. In 2022, he got a chance to show off his skills — sort of.

Last week in minicamp, Belichick spent a period of practice snapping to Jones during a series of drills with the quarterbacks and running backs. Although he acknowledged he had some fun, Belichick said there was a big difference between these snaps and the ones he did back in college.

“We didn’t have a shotgun then. We didn’t run the shotgun,” Belichick said.

Patriots center David Andrews noted he might take the practice film and slip the clip into the team’s "low lights" video later in the year.

“It looks like he needs to work on those snaps a little bit,” Andrews said. "No, I mean, coach has always been really hands-on from the time I got here. His knowledge of the game — that’s how it’s always been. I can maybe work on him with the snaps a little bit.”

For Jones, however, Belichick’s presence in practice served a major purpose. In this drill, Belichick was trying to teach the running backs about how they needed to get through the line of scrimmage. By snapping to Jones, Belichick was right there to coach the quarterback and the running backs on the right way to run these plays.

“I know you guys saw that. I’m sure you enjoyed it, but it was fun for me to get snaps from [him],” Jones said. “We were just talking through something with the running backs. He’s very hands-on. Last year, he was more with the defense and stuff, but now it’s like, ‘let me show you this.’ He was coaching us and coaching the running backs in that drill about the way they need to get through the line of scrimmage.”

Belichick as a defensive back

At 70, Belichick wouldn't seem like someone to mix it up with the skill-position players, but the Patriots coach didn’t hold back this spring.

In one drill, Belichick simulated being a defensive back along with Patriots receivers coach Ross Douglas, who is 27. Belichick backpedaled and dropped into coverage while Patriots receivers ran routes.

“It’s great,” said receiver Nelson Agholor. “He holds us to a certain standard and gives us great feedback and coaches us hard. We appreciate it, and that’s how we grow.”

The receivers said they loved having Belichick there because his knowledge is invaluable.

“We don’t think about his age. We think about the knowledge he has to give,” Agholor said. “He’s coached some of the best defensive backs that this league has ever seen. So for us, we know that he knows how we have to attack a DB because he teaches a DB every day how to prepare for receivers. It’s a great opportunity for us to pick his brain, to listen and to grow.”

Belichick as a punt returner

As we all know, special teams hold a special place in Belichick’s heart. He broke into the NFL in 1975 and the next season became an assistant special teams coach for the Detroit Lions. He also was a special teams assistant for the Denver Broncos in 1978. He was the New York Giants special teams coach (while handling other defensive responsibilities) from 1979-4.

Before Belichick became a defensive "genius," he was a special teams guru.

His knowledge was on display earlier this offseason. At the end of practice, the Patriots had several players practice punt returns.

Rookie cornerback Jack Jones has returned just one punt over the last two years. That shortage of experience was seen in practice as Jones muffed several footballs. After one mistake by Jones, however, Belichick stepped in and showed him the correct form on how to catch a punt, simulating the backpedaling and correct mechanics on how to reel the ball in.

“He gave me a lot of good pointers that I added to my game and helped me out,” said Jones. “To me, it’s a blessing, man. I love it, to be honest.”

Players benefited from Belichick’s hands-on style

Belichick wasn’t very revealing when asked about his hands-on coaching or ability to snap the ball in practice. However, he acknowledged he enjoyed those experiences and when asked if he liked to show the younger players he still had it, quipped, “Yeah, I'd like to be matched up against a couple of them.”

For the players involved, these experiences weren’t a laughing matter.

Historically, Belichick spent most of his practice time with the team’s defense while McDaniels handled the offense. With the longtime offensive coordinator hired to run the Raiders, Belichick spent more time with the offense this offseason. For the players, it was a nice change.

“I feel like we’ve made a lot of growth together as an offensive unit with him and obviously personally with him and as a quarterback group,” Jones said. “We’re all on the same page, and like I said, he’s seen the most amount of football of any of our coaches. He’s seen defense, offense and special teams, so having his input is always going to be very beneficial to me because he knows what puts stress on a defense. Now with him being very hands-on, he knows how we can stress a defense and how it’s going to play into our hands.”

The Patriots are in uncharted territory without a clear successor to McDaniels. Former defensive coordinator and Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia has taken on a larger role on offense. The same goes for former special teams coach and New York Giants head coach Joe Judge.

It’s clear that Belichick wants his offensive operation to run smoothly. If anyone knows what that needs to look like, it’s him.

“It’s been great, honestly,” said Patriots receiver Jakobi Meyers. “This year, I feel like it’s been like a group effort as far as everybody learning and everybody building. Not even just (Belichick), but just the whole total offensive staff, players we got, Mac for sure, the quarterbacks – it’s been great having them. Everybody is just pushing themselves to get better whether it’s conditioning, learning plays, in the weight room. It’s a steady competition but at the same time, it really feels like a family atmosphere.

“Just having Bill down there, that’s like the icing on the cake because if you’re a Patriot, you ultimately want to learn from the best to do it, right?”

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: How Bill Belichick is taking hands-on approach with Patriots