Bill Belichick did himself a disservice on Tuesday when he claimed he doesn’t “know too much about soccer”. Had he any tips for Heimir Hallgrímsson and his crew ahead of Thursday’s game in Prague? “I guess my advice would be: keep the ball out of your net. Start with that.” Heimir’s taking notes as we speak.
Belichick, of course, dabbles in a different footballing code, the 73-year-old regarded as one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time. During his 23 years with the New England Patriots, he won a record six Super Bowls, a certain Tom Brady playing a not insignificant role in that success.
He’s about to begin his second season in charge of the University of North Carolina’s Tar Heels, and while it might not be the NFL, his salary is a fair indication of just how big college sports are over yonder: he’s on a $50 million (€43 million) five-year contract.
His debut season was a big disappointment, though, a 4-8 record leaving his critics doubting he and college football were a good fit. He’s eager, then, to get the new campaign off to a positive start – which will be at, of all places, the Aviva Stadium in August when the Tar Heels play Texas Christian University (TCU) in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.
Has he ever been in Ireland before? “I have, yes. I was in Dublin for a Bon Jovi concert, I spent a couple nights there and listened to Jon rock the city.” He wasn’t sure of the exact year, but it sounds like it was 1995 at the RDS. “I think it’s, like, what they used for their fairs.”
Before speaking to the Irish media, Belichick was grilled by his home brigade at UNC’s Chapel Hill base, the fella answering as many questions about his “roster construction” as Donald Trump has possibly been posed about his Iran strategy. He’s big news, this man.
Mercifully, he wasn’t asked about his girlfriend who is 49 years his junior, that particular relationship making him the target of no end of lampooning in the States. Instead there were questions like “does football have intellectual content, what does it teach us?” “Life,” he replied. “Where do you want to start? We all get knocked down, we all get back up again. Football is life, that’s all it is.”
Bill Belichick during a North Carolina Tar Heels game last September. Photograph: Jared C Tilton/Getty Images
Bill Belichick during a North Carolina Tar Heels game last September. Photograph: Jared C Tilton/Getty Images
For a fella who has a reputation for being a bit – well, a lot – on the grumpy side, and not entirely media-friendly, he was Mr Affable when he sat down after for his Zoom call with Ireland to promote that Aviva date.
And he was entirely happy to gee up Ireland ahead of that World Cup playoff. He is, after all, no stranger to preparing teams for humongous games.
“Look, obviously they’re a very good team to get this far, and so I think you’ve got to rely on the things that have gotten you there. Don’t try to be something you’re not. Don’t try to do something you’ve never done before, do what you have been doing to be successful, trust the process.”
Not that we were being too parochial or anything, but Belichick was also asked about Newry native Adam McCann-Gibbs who is now on his roster, the kicker hoping to follow Charlie Smyth’s path in to the NFL.
“He’s got a big leg and certainly seems to have the ability to perform at this level, but he’s never played American Football so we’ll see how he acclimates to our style with a different ball, and so forth. He’s a very talented player, but one without very much experience in our game, so we’ll see how quickly he can acclimate to that.”
By now, after all he has achieved in the game, instead of guiding and nurturing the likes of McCann-Gibbs, Belichick could be relaxing on a beach, cocktail in hand, and reminiscing about his seismic impact on the sport. What, then, keeps him hungry for more at the age 73?
“I love football, football’s been very good to me and my family, any time I can give back to the game, whether it be on the field or, in this case, promoting the game internationally, I’m happy to do it. I have an obligation and responsibility to do it because of how good football has been to me.”
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all the years I’ve been able to coach. I enjoy the game, I enjoy teaching our players, I look forward to every day I come in to work. Honestly, it beats working.”