Bill Belichick will start his second season in charge at North Carolina in 2026.
Bill Belichick will start his second season in charge at North Carolina in 2026.Jaylynn Nash/Getty
Once one of the most tight-lipped figures in sports, former Patriots coach Bill Belichick has warmed up to the interview circuit.
Belichick discussed an array of topics in a wide-ranging interview on “Pardon My Take” this week, taking more than 90 minutes to share his thoughts on his Patriots past, his UNC present and future, and more.
Here are a few highlights from Belichick’s appearance:
Remembering Doug Flutie’s drop kick
Belichick is well-known as a football historian, and he played a part in a small bit of NFL history when he brought in Doug Flutie for a drop kick in 2006, the first one executed in an NFL game since 1941.
While Belichick made the call to bring Flutie on for the finishing touches of the last regular-season game of the 2005 campaign, it wasn’t originally the legendary coach’s idea.
“That was a Chris Berman call,” Belichick explained, referencing the longtime ESPN anchor. “He was the one that told me, ‘hey, Flutie can drop kick.’ . . . So I go to Flutie and say, ‘Can you drop kick?’ He goes, ‘yeah, sure, no problem.’ ”
Belichick also revealed that the moment almost didn’t happen. When Belichick asked Flutie if he was ready as the Patriots were nearing the end zone, Flutie seemed a little unsure, having not really had the time to get warm.
“This isn’t like baseball where you’ve got, ‘hey, warm up in the bullpen and we’ll bring you in,’ ” Belichick joked. “But we scored, we sent him in there, and he kicked it.”
Resigning from the Jets
Belichick’s tenure in New England famously started strangely, as it followed his one-day tenure as head coach of the New York Jets.
Belichick spent one day in that role, resigning on a napkin on Jan. 4, 2000.
“It wasn’t the classiest thing I’ve ever done, I’ll say that,” Belichick admitted. “I was in a mood at that time.”
Bill Belichick talking about why he resigned as Jets head coach a day after being elevated to the position: https://t.co/rH1F3Mf8vG pic.twitter.com/virZGntiN6
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) May 18, 2026
Belichick explained that his decision was because of the uncertainty over new ownership. Belichick had lost his first head coaching job in Cleveland when Art Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore and canned Belichick in the process.
“I had worked for Modell, and the two trains that were coming down the tracks were [James] Dolan and Woody Johnson,” Belichick said. " I just felt like, I don’t feel comfortable working for whichever one of those guys ended up with the team. Nothing personal — I just, I had a bad experience, and either I’m going to work for a good owner or an owner that I felt comfortable with, shared a vision with, or . . . I’m not working for that."
Coffee? No thanks
What’s fueled Belichick’s decades-long career in football? It’s certainly not coffee.
Belichick revealed in the interview that he’s the furthest thing from a coffee drinker.
“I can’t stand coffee,” he said. “I can’t stand to look at coffee, I can’t stand the taste of coffee, I can’t stand the smell of coffee, I can’t even eat coffee ice cream, and I can eat anything that’s sugar.
“I wouldn’t drink coffee if there was nothing else to drink.”
“I can’t stand coffee” -Bill Belichick
“Let me test you right now… Coffee or the New York Jets?” -@BarstoolBigCat
“Oh I’d go with the Jets” -Bill Belichick pic.twitter.com/kQ0XWmpuv7
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) May 18, 2026
So if he had to choose, does Belichick have a better opinion of coffee or the Jets?
“Oh, I’d go with the Jets. Remember — undefeated, unscored on, head coach of the New York Jets twice, never lost a game, never gave up a point," he joked.
Using Randy Moss’s speed
After a few years with some limited offensive options, Belichick and the Patriots got a big injection of talent when they traded for Randy Moss ahead of the 2007 season.
Moss returned to his superstar form in New England, and in the process, Belichick had to learn a thing or two about how to use a receiver with Moss’s electric speed.
Moss explained that in his previous stints in Minnesota and Oakland, running go routes straight down the field only served to tie up defenders as a decoy. Instead, by attacking the free safety from unusual positions, Moss became the most dangerous receiver in football again.
“@RandyMoss really helped coach me to understand how to use his speed” -Bill Belichick pic.twitter.com/QOzjbWBY9E
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) May 18, 2026
“Half of his touchdowns in 2007 came when he was in the slot, or he was the outside receiver but he motioned or lined up in a position that would’ve been where the slot receiver,” Belichick explained. “So if there was a middle of the field safety, he’d run straight at the middle of the field safety, and if the guy overplayed him, he’d break to the outside. If the guy played him high, then he’d cross his face and go to the far pylon.
“First quarter of the Jets game, he ran that pistol route, touchdown against the Jets, and it just took off from there.”
Moss set an NFL record with 23 receiving touchdowns that season, and Tom Brady set a record with 50 passing touchdowns.
“Brady, who could process it and embrace it and understand it, made it work.”
Randy Moss (81) scored the first of his NFL single-season record 23 receiving touchdowns during the 2007 season in the Patriots' Week 1 rout of the Jets.
Randy Moss (81) scored the first of his NFL single-season record 23 receiving touchdowns during the 2007 season in the Patriots' Week 1 rout of the Jets.The Boston Globe/Boston Globe
Amin Touri can be reached at amin.touri@globe.com.