New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick gave reporters nothing on Tuesday during the owners’ meetings. The team has plenty going on this offseason with a Super Bowl win, an owner in Robert Kraft facing solicitation charges and a handful of departures like defensive end Trey Flowers and tight end Rob Gronkowski.
Despite getting peppered with questions about departures, acquisitions, free agents, coaches, league rules and about the coach himself, Belichick elected to dodge and reject practically every inquiry he faced.
When it came to arrivals like defensive tackle Mike Pennel or tight end Matt LaCosse, Belichick said, “We’ll see.”
When it came to the positive qualities of new hire and future Patriots defensive coordinator Greg Schianco, Belichick listed, “Everything.” Anything in particularly? “It’s everything,” he said.
When Belichick was asked whether something might happen with a free agent, like the signing of kicker Stephen Gostkowski, Belichick refused to answer hypothetical questions, going so far as to interrupt a reporter mid-question with a refusal.
And when Belichick was asked about Gronkowski’s retirement, he responded that “offseason’s offseason.”
What. A. Revelation. But there’s more.
“It’s March,” Belichick said on March 26.
If the coach took more than 10 words to answer a question, it was somewhat remarkable. And somehow, this went on for 44 long and awkward minutes, covering — or not covering — other topics like defensive end Michael Bennett, Belichick’s schedule during the owners’ meetings, league rules, Belichick’s schedule during the offseason, the other coaches in the league like Brian Flores and Kliff Kingsbury, the 2019 draft class and so many other news items. There was little to report from his answers.
It appeared that he had a game plan for this press conference: brevity. And Belichick executed the plan like he has done in so many big moments.
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