That long-dreaded day has come at last. It has sent shockwaves around New England, across the nation, and around the world. No, not another war some part of the world. Not the death of a beloved world leader. Not an earthquake somewhere in the Pacific. Not a medical breakthrough that will change the course of history. Much more important than any of those. Bill Belichick, coach of the New England Patriots, has stepped down. What we had hoped wouldn’t come to pass in our lifetime has arrived. “(Insert name here) has been named the new Head Coach of the Patriots.” Oh, wait . . . this from Gillette Stadium – Jerod Mayo has been named the new coach. Gone, but never forgotten will be the much-loved hoodie with chopped off sleeves, the clipped and terse statements at press conferences, and the squinting look of disapproval even as the football passes between the uprights by a Patriot kicker. And in a very important cultural change for New Englanders here and away, we’ll have to get used to saying, “In Jerod We Trust”. Perhaps the National Mint could slip that on the dollar bill to reinforce the message.
This is truly a pivotal time for Patriots fans, in fact for all red-blooded Americans no matter which NFL team you support. It will take some time for the full impact of this departure and transition to sinks in. The news will occupy the front pages for days to come. It’s rather like saying to the Minutemen, “Thank you for your work at Lexington and Concord.” Reaction from around the world has been immediate and full of impact. In the sports world, this truly earth-shaking moment really happened. On ESPN’s morning show, “Get Up”, Mike Greenberg and his team actually, and get this and take a time to let the full significance of it sink in, stopped talking about the Dallas Cowboys for a full seven minutes. I know, right? It was as if the studio had been struck by a thunderbolt from Zeus. Another group of regulars talked later about Jerod Mayo’s hiring, and what a good move that was. The buzz on line is that the players are really excited too, although many if not most will be playing elsewhere next year as the team rebuilds. Even so, it’s a glimmer of hope. A light at the end of the tunnel.
From the Boston Archbishop’s office, word has reached us that a “Belichick Blessing” has been requested from the Holy See’s Office of Liturgical Departures and Really Nice Things. The exact wording has yet to be approved, but rumor has it that it concludes with “And may you always convert on third down.” That would be a pleasing and consoling message to all of us, no matter what one’s religious persuasion. King Charles III has sent word from Buckingham Palace that Bill is welcome to coach in the UK next year. A wonderful overture, until his personal secretary and Prince William explained that British Football is a different game, and victories there wouldn’t count towards his NFL total. A possible knighthood, along with a small manor house somewhere in Wales or Scotland, could be in the offing as well.
In politics, there was a brief pause in campaigning in Iowa. Nikki Halley and Rick DeSantis took a few minutes off from verballing bashing each other to pay tribute to “a great American, whose Eastern European family roots have fully assimilated into our national tapestry, and thus will not need to be bused or flown to a sanctuary city outside the region.” Donald Trump, among campaign stops and court appearances, took a brief pause between bites of his cheeseburger to tweet best wishes. He further, in a typical gesture of good will, sent one of his legal teams to review Bill’s severance package and contract language and have his accountants take a look at his taxes.
One of the things most of us have always admired about Coach Belichick has been his disciplined approach in responding to the media. His famed one-word answers and icy stare at those posing frivolous questions, is a part of New England folklore. His evasive responses to long-range planning questions are the stuff of legend. That’s probably why his departure speech, along with a hug from team owner Robert Kraft, was so moving. He has had a strict rule about players speaking out emotionally or publicly – it wasn’t allowed. Which is why a news item a while back was, to me, curious. Many sports talking heads were making a meal of comments made by a quarterback during an NFL game. The quarterback had a live microphone attached to his helmet, and his comments were picked up by the networks. If I may be so bold, when, in an age when coaches hold clipboards out to their mouths so that lip-readers on Skylab can’t pick up their instructions, and professional baseball players have to mask their communications behind their gloves, are we disbursing microphones among the playing combatants? Whose brilliant idea was that? It’s apparently not enough that we require athletes, managers, and coaches to conduct pre, post, and “midway through” interviews, now they need to be recorded as the games are unfolding too. That can’t possibly be a distraction, can it? Next, we’ll have remote cameras like the ones the police use, attached to their helmets and cleats so we can really get a sense of what it’s like to be in the pileup. Interestingly, all of the commentators have been talking about the player’s comments. No one has even remotely suggested that perhaps the comment should have remained on the field, not available to the press box. Maybe we could call this incident “A Mic Too Far”. With Bill, that was not a problem. His face remained stoic. There was a hilarious meme on line a few years ago – the many emotions of Coach Bill Belichick. It featured captioned pictures of a wide range of emotions from delight and surprise, to anger and disapproval. It was all the same picture, with the same expression.
So, as a new day dawns and our deeply respected coach rides off into the sunset – we know not where yet but he’s suggested that his coaching days are not over, we bid a fond farewell and issue forth a profound note of appreciation. Coach – you built a dynasty here. You gave us weeks, years, decades in fact of mostly joy and triumph. A few seasons of knuckle-biting and despair. Overall, you gave us a team of which we could truly be proud, and a tradition to which other teams could aspire. So, Bill Belichick, thanks for the memories.
I'm Thinking...No! 