Earlier this offseason, the New England Patriots sent shockwaves throughout the NFL landscape when it was announced that they would be parting ways with legendary head coach Bill Belichick. Belichick won six Super Bowl championships during his time with the Patriots, teaming up with star quarterback Tom Brady to form the greatest NFL dynasty of all time which, despite its constant run-ins with the NFL rulebook, is still viewed in many ways as the league's model of consistency toward which to aspire.
Of course, with Belichick's great power also came great fear, especially for younger players in the organization. One of those players was defensive end Adam Butler, who currently plays for the Las Vegas Raiders but began his career by signing with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent back in 2017.
Recently, Butler stopped by his teammates Maxx Crosby's The Rush with Maxx Crosby podcast to discuss the fear of Belichick that was felt throughout the locker room.
“So if you ever been in his system, anybody you talk to, I don't care who it is, if you’ve ever been in his system, like the fear level is like up here. You know what I'm saying, you’re always on egg shells in the building,” said Butler, per Maxx Crosby's channel on YouTube. “You know, you’re always worried you’re going to f— up on this or that. Because like when he punishes you, he punishes you to the maximum. Let's say you get a personal foul in the game, and the league fines you $15K, this man would turn around and also fine you conduct detrimental to the team. So instead just getting the $15k from the league you finna get another $25k on top of that.”
Butler did clarify that it's hard to argue with the results that the Patriots coach has accomplished in his NFL tenure.
“I still think he's the greatest coach of all time, I don't think there's really any debate on that,” said Butler. “And you can't say that his philosophy didn't work as hard as it might be you know. But yeah when I tell that man would strike fear in you’re a–, he will strike fear in your a–.”
Where does Bill Belichick go from here?
Bill Belichick was widely expected to be quickly signed by another organization following his shocking departure from the Patriots. However, such a signing has yet to take place, leading some to wonder if his coaching days are now over, despite the immense success he achieved in New England.
By today's standards, some of Belichick's Patriots practices that Butler referenced might be frowned upon (or outright illegal, not that following the rules was ever a primary concern for Belichick and the Patriots). Still, it is undoubtedly a bit jarring to see a man widely viewed as the most successful ever in his profession suddenly having an absence of suitors, despite never publicly indicating his desire to stop coaching.
In any case, the Patriots are now led by new head coach Jerod Mayo.
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