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

FOXBORO — Back in 2009, during an “A Football Life” documentary, Bill Belichick explained when he wanted to stop coaching.

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

The Patriots head coach was 57 at the time. Thirteen years and four Super Bowls appearances have passed and the Patriots head coach is now 70, but he’s not slowing down. For Belichick, age is just a number. To see that, all you had to do was watch Patriots organized team activities and minicamp.

Throughout those sessions, 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 coach was on the field, participating with his players during numerous drills.

“I enjoy coaching,” Belichick said when he was 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.”

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Belichick was seen snapping footballs to quarterback Mac Jones and simulating catching punts. We saw him working as a defensive back in wide receiver drills. He was even seen working as an edge rusher during defensive drills.

Although several of those images might make an observer laugh, it’s clear that the players valued his time and instruction.

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

Belichick as a center

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

In minicamp, Belichick spent time in practice snapping to Jones during a series of drills with the quarterbacks and running backs. Although he acknowledged that he had some fun, the head coach said there is a big difference between those snaps and the ones he did in college.

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

Patriots center David Andrews noted that he might take the practice film and slip the clip into the team’s "lowlights" 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.”

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For Jones, however, Belichick’s presence in practice served a major purpose. In this drill, Belichick was trying to teach the running backs how best 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 the plays.

“I know you guys saw that," Jones said. "I’m sure you enjoyed it, but it was fun for me to get snaps from [him].

“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. He’s very hands-on.”

Belichick as a defensive back

An observer would not expect Belichick, at 70, to mix it up with the skill-position players but the Patriots coach did just that.

In one drill, Belichick simulated being a defensive back along with Patriots receivers coach Ross Douglas, who is 27. Belichick was seen backpedaling and dropping into coverage while Patriots receivers ran routes downfield.

“It’s great,” receiver Nelson Agholor said. “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.”

Belichick never played cornerback but he certainly knows the coaching pointers to give receivers on how to beat NFL defensive backs. In this drill, he was giving hands-on advice to his playmakers.

Previously from Patriots minicamp: Mac Jones lit up the Patriots defense in impressive fashion

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

“We don’t think about his age," Agholor said. "We think about the knowledge he has to give. 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

Special teams hold a special place in Belichick’s heart. He broke into the NFL as a coach in 1975 and the next season, he became an assistant special-teams coach for the Detroit Lions. He was hired as a special-teams assistant for the Denver Broncos in 1978. And he was the New York Giants special-teams coach, along with handling other defensive responsibilities, from 1979 to 1984.

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

His knowledge was on display this offseason. At the end of practice, the Patriots had several players work on punt returns. The drill focused more on catching the ball than on returning it. It was notable to see rookie Jack Jones out there. The fourth-round pick, as a defensive back, returned just 10 punts in college and those were early in his career. Jones has returned just one punt over the last two years.

Jones muffed several footballs. After one mistake, Belichick stepped in and gave Jones some hands-on coaching. He showed Jones the correct way to handle a punt, simulating the backpedaling technique and the correct mechanics on how to reel in the ball.

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

Players benefited from Belichick’s hands-on style

Belichick did not reveal much when he was asked about his hands-on coaching or his ability to snap the ball in practice. He said he enjoyed the experiences, however, and, when he was asked if he liked to show the younger players that he still had it, he quipped, “Yeah, I'd like to be matched up against a couple of them.”

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

Historically, Belichick had spent most of his practice time with the team’s defense. That allowed McDaniels to handle the offense. With the longtime offensive coordinator now the head coach in Las Vegas, Belichick has 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,” Mac 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 Patriots defensive coordinator and Detroit head coach Matt Patricia has taken on a larger role on offense. The same goes for former Patriots special-teams coach and New York Giants head coach Joe Judge.

“It’s been great honestly,” receiver Jakobi Meyers said. “This year, I feel like it’s been 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 or 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: Patriots coach Bill Belichick joins players on the field for practice