Bill Belichick famously runs a tight ship in New England, where Patriots players are expected to “do your job” and be cagey with the media. The practice of barely talking with reporters and avoiding the media is so beaten into players that one former Patriots player says he still had fears about Belichick even after leaving New England.
Danny Woodhead, who was a running back for the Pats from 2010-2012, was a guest on the “Pardon My Take” podcast last week and talked about how he was still haunted about speaking with the media even after leaving the Pats.
“I will say, once you leave, … the first time [I was on your podcast], I was my first year out of New England. If you look at my progression as far as comfortability (sic) talking to people … I guess when I was in San Diego, I thought Bill (Belichick) was going to come to my house and be the table monster or do something weird to me,” Woodhead said.
Woodhead’s comments came in the context of the interview Tom Brady did with Howard Stern that received widespread attention. Woodhead indicated Brady would not have felt comfortable opening up so much while still playing for the Patriots.
None of this is surprising, and you can go all the way back to this guy to know exactly how Belichick feels about his players talking with the media.
Even Wes Welker said the year after leaving the Pats that he still feared Belichick when talking with the media.
And if you’re wondering about Belichick’s rules for dealing with the media, well, Tedy Bruschi shared them several years ago, and they’re very interesting. You can read them here.
