A number of words have been used to describe Bill Belichick over the past decade or so. When speaking strictly about football, most of those terms have been positive. However, most people do not think very highly of the Patriots coach as a person. Belichick seems to love every bit of the attention he gets for being an “evil genius” who has no patience with the media. Is he considered an egotistical maniac? The average person would say he most certainly is, but Belichick’s good friend Tony La Russa insists that is not the case.
“I get a big kick out of the perception publicly — all the media, and mostly the fans, because they don’t see (and) he doesn’t give you much,” LaRussa said on ESPN Boston Radio Friday according to ESPNBoston.com. “He’s not there to draw attention to himself. But if you get in a social situation around Bill, he’s got so much personality. He’s interesting. He’s funny. He’s a great friend. I can’t respect our relationship more than I do. He’s about as good a friend as you can expect to have.
“If you go to dinner, you’re going to talk about a lot of subjects. It’s real apparent that Bill has no ego. He’s not there to impress you on his championships. He’s just sharing and asking. He shares with guys he knows are interested. It’s like going to graduate school times 100.”
Must be a different Bill Belichick, right? All joking aside, La Russa isn’t the first person to say this about the Pats coach. Opposing players may think he’s a jerk based on their experiences with him, but Bill is best friends with Jon Bon Jovi. And we certainly know La Russa likes to party, so I doubt he would hang out with someone like Belichick if he acted the same in a social situation as he does when he’s standing at the podium. I don’t doubt he’s fun to be around, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say Belichick is hiding an ego somewhere underneath that hooded sweatshirt.
H/T Pro Football Talk
Photo credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE
