No one feels sorry for Bill Belichick. But what about his sideline phone?
Bill Belichick has been living the good life in the NFL for the last two decades.
Nine Super Bowl appearances. Six championship rings. 17 AFC East titles.
Pretty sure no one outside of New England is feeling sorry for the Patriots coach during this disaster of a season following the departure of longtime quarterback Tom Brady.
Perhaps the team’s sideline phone at Gillette Stadium deserves a little sympathy after the way Belichick treated it during the Patriots’ 38-9 loss to the Buffalo Bills on “Monday Night Football.â€
On the first play of the second half, Bills tight end Dawson Knox dragged a toe to stay inbounds for a 15-yard reception — and he did so right in front of Belichick, who decided to throw the challenge flag anyway.
It appears Belichick got some bad advice from someone on his staff.
“Obviously he made the catch. It was a good catch,†Belichick said of Knox after the game. “I mean, it was a good call. It was a good catch. And the challenge was obviously not successful, as it shouldn’t have been.â€
While replays of the catch were being played in the stadium, ESPN’s cameras caught the legendary coach appearing to give someone an earful over a sideline phone.
However badly that conversation went for the person on the receiving end, it went even worse for the device upon which it was transmitted.
Naturally, the clip of Belichick taking a season’s worth of frustrations out on a defenseless piece of plastic went viral, with folks on social media gleefully taking shots at the coach with the third-most wins in NFL history.
This is where New England fans should stop reading. To those NFL enthusiasts who have been waiting 20-plus years for a Patriots season like this, enjoy!
More to Read
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.